Cognitive and neuroanatomical impairments associated with chronic exposure to levamisole-contaminated cocaine

Transl Psychiatry. 2018 Oct 27;8(1):235. doi: 10.1038/s41398-018-0279-3.

Abstract

Currently, levamisole is the most common cocaine adulterant worldwide and it is known to induce a variety of adverse side effects. Animal studies and human case reports suggest potential neurotoxicity of the compound but neither neuroanatomical nor cognitive effects of levamisole have been systematically investigated in cocaine users so far. We examined cognitive performance and cortical structural differences between chronic cocaine users with low and high recent exposure to levamisole objectively determined by quantitative toxicological hair analyses. In Study 1, we compared 26 chronic cocaine users with low levamisole exposure (lowLevCU), 49 matched cocaine users with high levamisole exposure (highLevCU), and 78 matched stimulant-naive controls regarding cognitive functioning employing a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery. In Study 2, we investigated cortical thickness by use of T1-weighted MRI in a subgroup of 12 lowLevCU, 17 highLevCU, and 38 stimulant-naive controls. In Study 1, both cocaine user groups showed significant impairments in the cognitive domains of attention and working memory as well as in the global cognitive index. However, highLevCU showed significantly worse executive functions compared to lowLevCU although both groups did not differ in severity of cocaine consumption and other clinical dimensions. Study 2 revealed that highLevCU, displayed reduced cortical thickness specifically in the middle frontal gyrus compared to both controls and lowLevCU. Our results suggest that levamisole exposure during the last months in cocaine users is associated with increased executive function impairments and pronounced thinning of the lateral prefrontal cortex. Consequently, prevention and drug policy-making should aim to reduce levamisole contamination of street cocaine.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Antinematodal Agents / adverse effects*
  • Attention / drug effects
  • Cerebral Cortex / diagnostic imaging
  • Cerebral Cortex / drug effects*
  • Cocaine-Related Disorders / complications*
  • Cognitive Dysfunction / chemically induced*
  • Drug Contamination*
  • Executive Function / drug effects*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Illicit Drugs* / adverse effects
  • Levamisole / adverse effects*
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Memory, Short-Term / drug effects
  • Prefrontal Cortex / diagnostic imaging
  • Prefrontal Cortex / drug effects

Substances

  • Antinematodal Agents
  • Illicit Drugs
  • Levamisole