Cocaine Addiction Treatment and Home Remedies: Use of the Scopolamine Transdermal Patch

Abstract

Recently, there has been an enormous increase in the number of people seeking treatment for cocaine addiction. Fifteen male cocaine users aged 20–30 years who requested hair analysis from our forensic toxicology laboratory (Perugia, Italy) from March to June 2012, reported using scopolamine without medical supervision to reduce the anxiety associated with cocaine withdrawal. Self-reports were verified with the results obtained from the hair analysis. We discuss whether the use of scopolamine in cocaine abusers could be supported by a neurobiological and pharmacological point of view.

Keywords :

• cocaine
• scopolamine
• hair analysis
• cocaine addiction
• cocaine withdrawal

THE AUTHORS

Dr. Cristiana Gambelunghe, (PhD), is Researcher of Legal Medicine with coordination functions in the Laboratory of Toxicology, School of Medicine, University of Perugia, Italy. She has research interest in forensic toxicology. In particular she is involved in hair testing as alternative or complementary matrix for toxicological analysis.

Prof. Mauro Bacci, (MD), is Full Professor of Legal Medicine in the School of Medicine, University of Perugia, Italy. He has research interest in the field of forensic science such as forensic pathology and toxicology.

Dr. Kyriaki Aroni, (PhD), is Assistant Researcher in the Laboratory of Toxicology in the School of Medicine, University of Perugia, Italy. She has research interest in forensic toxicology. In particular, she is involved in hair testing as alternative or complementary matrix for toxicological analysis.

Dr. Filomena De Falco, (PhD expected 2013), is PhD student in “Pharmacological Biotechnologies, Oncology and Clinical Pharmacology”, School of Medicine, University of Perugia, Italy. She has research interest in drug analysis and in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) pathogenesis. Specifically, she is now involved in studies of pharmacological and genetic modulation of survival and apoptosis of CLL cells.

Prof. Emira Ayroldi (MD, PhD), is Associate Professor of Pharmacology in the School of Medicine, University of Perugia, Italy. She has research interest in pharmacological modulation of lymphocyte apoptosis and regulation of glucocorticoid-induced gene expression. In particular, she is now involved in functional studies on a glucocorticoid -induced gene, named GILZ, which plays an important role in glucocorticoid immunomodulation.