VITAL SIGNS / TREATMENT

A New Tool to Resist The Pull of Cocaine

Hope for cocaine addicts may come from a seemingly unlikely source: a drug
long used to treat high blood pressure.

Researchers have found that the drug, propranolol, seems to help some
addicts stay in treatment when the pull of cocaine is especially strong.
The dropout rate for such programs can otherwise be very high.

The report appeared in the April issue of Drug and Alcohol Dependence, and
was prepared by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia.

The findings were based on a study of 108 cocaine addicts over an
eight-week period.

Propranolol appears to ease withdrawal symptoms by diminishing the
anxiety-causing effects of adrenaline. Addicts going through withdrawal are
often more sensitive to adrenaline, the researchers said.

The lead researcher, Dr. Kyle Kampman of the university's medical school,
previously found that the drug amantadine, which is used to treat
Parkinson's disease, also appears to help cocaine addicts.

A study is now being conducted to determine how the two drugs work together.