Brain lesions induced by chronic cocaine administration to rats

Cocaine is a common drug of abuse, and its use has emerged as a major public health problem with neurological complications. In this work, the authors studied microscopic lesions produced in brain by chronic cocaine administration to rats. Twenty-five Wistar rats were exposed to 30 mg/kg/day ip of cocaine and sacrificed at 15, 30, 45, 60, and 90 days after treatment and compared to 25 control rats injected daily with saline. The parietal cortex (Cx), hippocampus (Hp), substantia nigra (SN), and cerebellum (Ce) were morphologically analyzed. The authors found progressive light microscopic lesions in all regions studied, including nuclear pyknosis and atrophy, interstitial edema, broken fibers, and necrosis. Results show that chronic treatment with cocaine in rats leads to selective severe lesions in different brain regions.