New research shows cocaine causes brain cells to eat themselves
- 8 years ago
BALTIMORE — A study conducted on mice by a team of scientists at John Hopkins University found that high doses of cocaine can cause out-of-control autophagy, a physiological process that causes the destruction of cells and the formation of new ones.
Autophagy removes or recycles debris that accumulates in bags in cells called vacuoles. These bags fuse with enzyme-rich bags called lysosomes, which lyse the waste.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins found that high doses of cocaine can cause autophagy to go into overdrive and destroy important cell components such as energy-producing mitochondria, causing autophagy-induced cell death.
Prasun Guha, a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and lead author of the paper, which was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, likened the process to how waste is removed from the house.
"A cell is like a household that is constantly generating trash," Guha explained in a press release. "Autophagy is the housekeeper that takes out the trash — it's usually a good thing. But cocaine makes the housekeeper throw away really important things, like mitochondria, which produce energy for the cell."
Signs of autophagy-induced cell death were found in the brains of mice given high doses of cocaine, as well as in the brains of mice whose mothers received the drug while pregnant.
The scientists also tested an experimental drug called CGP3466B, which they protected mouse nerve cells from autophagy-induced death caused by cocaine.
The drug has been proven to be safe in humans, but more research is needed to determine whether it can truly protect human nerve cells from the devastating effects of cocaine.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals and much more! Subscribe now for daily news animations that will knock your socks off.
Visit our official website for all the latest, uncensored videos: http://us.tomonews.net
Check out our Android app: http://bit.ly/1rddhCj
Check out our iOS app: http://bit.ly/1gO3z1f
Get top stories delivered to your inbox everyday: http://bit.ly/tomo-newsletter
Stay connected with us here:
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TomoNewsUS
Twitter @tomonewsus http://www.twitter.com/TomoNewsUS
Google+ http://plus.google.com/+TomoNewsUS/
Instagram @tomonewsus http://instagram.com/tomonewsus
Autophagy removes or recycles debris that accumulates in bags in cells called vacuoles. These bags fuse with enzyme-rich bags called lysosomes, which lyse the waste.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins found that high doses of cocaine can cause autophagy to go into overdrive and destroy important cell components such as energy-producing mitochondria, causing autophagy-induced cell death.
Prasun Guha, a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and lead author of the paper, which was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, likened the process to how waste is removed from the house.
"A cell is like a household that is constantly generating trash," Guha explained in a press release. "Autophagy is the housekeeper that takes out the trash — it's usually a good thing. But cocaine makes the housekeeper throw away really important things, like mitochondria, which produce energy for the cell."
Signs of autophagy-induced cell death were found in the brains of mice given high doses of cocaine, as well as in the brains of mice whose mothers received the drug while pregnant.
The scientists also tested an experimental drug called CGP3466B, which they protected mouse nerve cells from autophagy-induced death caused by cocaine.
The drug has been proven to be safe in humans, but more research is needed to determine whether it can truly protect human nerve cells from the devastating effects of cocaine.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals and much more! Subscribe now for daily news animations that will knock your socks off.
Visit our official website for all the latest, uncensored videos: http://us.tomonews.net
Check out our Android app: http://bit.ly/1rddhCj
Check out our iOS app: http://bit.ly/1gO3z1f
Get top stories delivered to your inbox everyday: http://bit.ly/tomo-newsletter
Stay connected with us here:
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TomoNewsUS
Twitter @tomonewsus http://www.twitter.com/TomoNewsUS
Google+ http://plus.google.com/+TomoNewsUS/
Instagram @tomonewsus http://instagram.com/tomonewsus