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Neuroimage Clin 2019 Jan 4:101652. Epub 2019 Jan 4.

Experimental and Clinical Pharmacopsychology, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. Electronic address:

Background: Cocaine use has been consistently associated with decreased gray matter volumes in the prefrontal cortex. However, it is unclear if such neuroanatomical abnormalities depict either pre-existing vulnerability markers or drug-induced consequences. Thus, this longitudinal MRI study investigated neuroplasticity and cognitive changes in relation to altered cocaine intake. Read More

Psychol Addict Behav 2018 Nov;32(7):812-820

Hospital das Clínicas, Departamento de Psiquiatria, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo.

Studies have evidenced more severe health consequences in individuals who smoked crack cocaine as compared to intranasal cocaine users. Differential neurocognitive deficits between the crack and intranasal cocaine-addicted patients, associated with prefrontal cortex functions, have never been tested using complex cognitive tasks in humans. In this study, we examined possible distinct neurocognitive deficits in 43 crack-addicted patients (CrD) compared with 36 intranasal cocaine-addicted patients (CD) and 32 controls. Read More

Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2018 Dec 13;235(12):3509-3523. Epub 2018 Nov 13.

Department of Drug Addiction Pharmacology, Institute of Pharmacology Polish Academy of Sciences, 12 Smetna Street, PL-31-343, Kraków, Poland.

Rationale And Objectives: Many studies indicated that adenosine via its A receptors influences the behavioral effects of cocaine by modulating dopamine neurotransmission. The hypothesis was tested that A receptors in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) or the prefrontral cortex (PFc) may modulate cocaine reward and/or cocaine seeking behavior in rats.

Methods: The effects of local bilateral microinjections of the selective A receptor agonist CGS 21680 or the A receptor antagonists KW 6002 and SCH 58261 were investigated on cocaine self-administration on reinstatement of cocaine seeking. Read More

Trends Pharmacol Sci 2018 12 29;39(12):1008-1020. Epub 2018 Oct 29.

Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Solnavägen 9, Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address:

The concept of allosteric receptor-receptor interactions in G protein-coupled receptor homo- and heteroreceptor complexes in which they physically interact provides a new dimension to molecular integration in the brain. The receptor-receptor interactions dynamically change recognition, pharmacology, signaling, and trafficking of the participating receptors. Among the receptor complexes, disruption of the A2A receptor-dopamine D2 receptor (A2AR-D2R) complex by an A2AR agonist has been shown to fully block the inhibition of cocaine self-administration. Read More

N Engl J Med 2018 11;379(18):1782

Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.

Tex Heart Inst J 2018 08 1;45(4):273-274. Epub 2018 Aug 1.

Cutis 2018 Sep;102(3):169;170;175;176

Department of Dermatology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

Reports of levamisole-induced vasculopathy (LIV) secondary to use of levamisole-contaminated cocaine largely have been limited to the skin. We report the case of a 35-year-old woman with painful purpuric lesions affecting the cheeks, nose, ears, arms, and legs of several days' duration. She recently had used crack cocaine. Read More

J Anal Toxicol 2018 Oct;42(8):518-524

Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.

Cocaine continues to be one of the most widespread abused illicit drugs in the USA. Rapid methods are needed for the identification and quantitation of cocaine and its metabolites, benzoylecgonine (BE), ecgonine methyl ester (EME) and cocaethylene (CE), in biological specimens by clinical and forensic toxicology laboratories. Presented is a differential ion mobility spectrometry-tandem mass spectrometry (DMS-MS-MS) method for the analysis of cocaine and its major metabolites in human serum that requires minimal sample preparation and no column chromatography. Read More

J Anal Toxicol 2018 Oct;42(8):512-517

Aegis Sciences Corporation, 501 Great Circle Road, Nashville, TN, USA.

Cocaine (COC) is widely abused and associated with significant adverse effects. Forensic and clinical laboratories often test for COC intake through detection of the primary metabolite, benzoylecgonine (BZE) in urine. Testing for BZE alone may result in false-negative determinations in situations where COC is recently administered or metabolism is impaired. Read More

Cien Saude Colet 2018 Oct;23(10):3453-3462

Escola de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Belo Horizonte MG Brasil.

The abuse of psychoactive drugs is a health problem throughout the entire world, as its magnitude pervades childhood and adult life. The objective of this article is to understand the feelings and perceptions of family members regarding the support network, care and treatment of their offspring who use crack and associated drugs, in the context of a reference center for treatment. In line with methodological approach, qualitative research was used, with data collected and analyzed under the light of Phenomenology. Read More

Psychol Addict Behav 2018 Nov 22;32(7):800-811. Epub 2018 Oct 22.

Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center.

Cognitive impairments are associated with poor outcomes when treating cocaine dependent patients, but behavioral interventions to mitigate this impact have not been developed. In this Stage 1A/1B treatment development study, several compensatory strategies (e.g. Read More

Integr Zool 2018 Nov;13(6):795-803

Department of Biomedical Sciences and Program in Neuroscience, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA.

DNA methylation has been identified as a powerful and activity-dependent regulator of changes in the brain that may underlie neuroadaptations in response to various types of stimuli, including exposure to drugs of abuse. Indeed, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) projections to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) are critically important for reinstated cocaine-seeking in a rodent model of cocaine relapse. This circuitry undergoes several epigenetic modifications following cocaine exposure, including changes in DNA methylation that are associated with drug-seeking behavior. Read More

Molecules 2018 Oct 11;23(10). Epub 2018 Oct 11.

Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 6604, USA.

The acute activation of kappa opioid receptors (KOPr) produces antinociceptive and anti-cocaine effects, however, their side-effects have limited further clinical development. Mesyl Sal B is a potent and selective KOPr analogue of Salvinorin A (Sal A), a psychoactive natural product isolated from the plant . We assessed the antinociceptive, anti-cocaine, and side-effects of Mesyl Sal B. Read More

Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2018 Dec 6;235(12):3391-3400. Epub 2018 Oct 6.

Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, BBSRB, Room 443, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA.

Background: An important factor that can lead to drug relapse is to re-associate with drug-using social peers, but there is little literature on the effect of social peers on relapse in animal models.

Methods: The current study used a dual-compartment operant conditioning apparatus that allowed adult male rats to respond for cocaine in the presence of a conspecific. In experiment 1, rats were trained to self-administer cocaine in the presence of a social peer that was separated by a wire screen partition and then that peer was used as a reinstatement cue following a period of extinction. Read More

eNeuro 2018 Sep-Oct;5(5). Epub 2018 Oct 2.

Functional Connectivity of Chronic Cocaine Use Reveals Progressive Neuroadaptations in Neocortical, Striatal, and Limbic Networks by, Caitlin A. Orsini, Luis M. Colon-Perez, Sara C. Read More

J Consult Clin Psychol 2018 Oct;86(10):799-809

Department of Psychiatry, Division of Substance Abuse, Yale University School of Medicine.

Objective: Contingency management (CM) interventions that reinforce attendance have rarely been evaluated in terms of reducing drug use. Using a sequential randomized design, this study examined the efficacy of three attendance CM conditions compared to usual care (UC) on drug use outcomes. It evaluated whether the duration (6 vs. Read More

J Cardiovasc Med (Hagerstown) 2018 Nov;19(11):671-673

Cardiovascular Department, IRCCS MultiMedica Hospital.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018 10 18;115(40):E9479-E9488. Epub 2018 Sep 18.

Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029;

GABAR-dependent activation of G protein-gated inwardly rectifying potassium channels (GIRK or K3) provides a well-known source of inhibition in the brain, but the details on how this important inhibitory pathway affects neural circuits are lacking. We used sorting nexin 27 (SNX27), an endosomal adaptor protein that associates with GIRK2c and GIRK3 subunits, to probe the role of GIRK channels in reward circuits. A conditional knockout of SNX27 in both substantia nigra pars compacta and ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons leads to markedly smaller GABAR- and dopamine DR-activated GIRK currents, as well as to suprasensitivity to cocaine-induced locomotor sensitization. Read More

J Clin Ethics 2018 ;29(3):185-190

Department of Neurology and Department of Neurosurgery, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, New York, USA.

Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is administered to patients with suspected ischemic stroke to improve blood flow to the brain In rare cases, patients present with complaints of stroke symptoms that appear to be non-organic due to malingering, factitious disorder, or conversion disorder (psychogenic stroke mimics). Deciding whether or not to administer tPA to these patients can be challenging. The risk of hemorrhage after administration of tPA is low, but not zero. Read More

Braz J Psychiatry 2018 Oct-Dec;40(4):459

Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.

Mutat Res 2018 Jul - Sep;777:19-28. Epub 2018 Jun 21.

Institute of Forensic Science & Criminology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160 014, India. Electronic address:

DNA sequence is a powerful tool that can be used for an individual's identification and investigation of various abnormalities in the genome. However, recent studies have identified other heritable changes by epigenetic mechanisms that cause changes in gene expression without altering the DNA sequence itself. In particular, DNA methylation mediates long-lasting changes in gene promoters, which makes it an appealing epigenetic mechanism to study variation in methylation status that characterizes the extent of drug abuse. Read More

Drug Alcohol Depend 2018 10 24;191:110-116. Epub 2018 Jul 24.

Center for Learning and Health, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 5200 Eastern Avenue, Suite 350 East, Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA. Electronic address:

Background: The link between illicit drug use and impaired employee performance in the workplace has been assumed, but the relation has not been demonstrated clearly in research. This study was an evaluation of the relations between cocaine and opiate use, attendance, and performance in a job skills training program in a population with high rates of drug use.

Methods: Out-of-treatment injection drug users (N = 42) attended a model therapeutic workplace where they could earn a maximum pay of around $10 per hour, 4 h every weekday, for 30 weeks. Read More

EMBO Rep 2018 09 6;19(9). Epub 2018 Aug 6.

Department of Basic Neurosciences, Medical Faculty, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.

BJPsych Open 2018 Sep;4(5):324-331

Associate Professor,Institute and Department of Psychiatry,Faculty of Medicine,Universidade de São Paulo (LIM-23),Brazil.

Background: Although many studies suggest that religiosity is a protective factor against drug use, there is little information on its effect on drug consumption patterns of those who do use drugs.AimsWe aimed to examine if there is any relationship between religiosity during childhood and adolescence, and drug consumption in adult crack users.

Method: We performed a cross-sectional study of adults addicted to crack cocaine. Read More

Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2018 Oct 26;235(10):2871-2881. Epub 2018 Jul 26.

Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, 171 Funkhouser Drive, Lexington, KY, 40506-0044, USA.

Rationale: Theoretical accounts highlight the importance of drug-related cues for the development and persistence of drug-taking behavior. Few studies have evaluated the ability of spatially contiguous drug cues to bias decisions between two concurrently presented non-drug reinforcers.

Objective: Evaluate the contribution of spatially contiguous cocaine cues to choice between two concurrently presented monetary reinforcers METHODS: Participants with cocaine use disorder completed a cued concurrent choice task. Read More

Behav Brain Res 2018 11 20;353:176-184. Epub 2018 Jul 20.

University at Buffalo, Research Institute on Addictions, Behavioral Neuropharmacology and Neuroimaging Laboratory on Addictions, 1021 Main Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203-1016, USA. Electronic address:

Stress increases the likelihood of cocaine relapse in humans and animals, even following a prolonged extinction/abstinence period. Exercise has previously been shown to reduce stress and decrease the likelihood of drug dependence, while also reducing cravings in humans and inhibiting relapse behaviors due to other risk factors in rodents. The present study evaluated the efficacy of exercise to reduce stress-induced relapse to cocaine in a rodent model. Read More

BMJ Case Rep 2018 Jul 19;2018. Epub 2018 Jul 19.

Department of Internal Medicine, Griffin Hospital, Derby, Connecticut, USA.

Acute oesophageal necrosis (AON), also known as 'black oesophagus', is a rare condition characterised by the necrosis of the oesophagus usually involving the distal part. It has been associated with various conditions, and the pathogenesis is thought to involve hypovolaemia combined with decreased function of oesophageal protective mucosal barriers and may be compounded by the effect of gastric secretions on oesophageal mucosa. The hallmark of this condition is characteristic circumferential black discolouration of the distal oesophagus that may extend proximally. Read More

Psychiatr Q 2018 12;89(4):923-936

Department of Psychology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, 33085261, Rua Ramiro Barcelos, 2600/SALA- Bairro Santa Cecilia, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, CEP: 90035-003, Brazil.

Crack cocaine users frequently report difficulties regarding having healthy and rewarding relationships. Factors other than the use of crack cocaine itself may be at play when it comes to being able to develop healthier connections with partners, adult relatives and close friends. To verify which factors, including demographics, substance abuse related factors and psychiatric comorbidities could be markers for a higher severity of problems in interpersonal relationships of crack cocaine users seeking for treatment. Read More

Psychol Addict Behav 2018 08 12;32(5):552-563. Epub 2018 Jul 12.

Department of Behavioral Science.

Narrow inclusion criteria regarding substance use are commonplace in clinical research. This is due, in part, to assumptions about capacity to make "rational" decisions regarding participation by these populations. This study evaluated decision-making and perceptions surrounding each of the Belmont principles among individuals with cocaine use histories, cigarette smokers without illicit substance use histories, and controls without cigarette or illicit substance use histories. Read More

Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2018 Sep 10;235(9):2675-2685. Epub 2018 Jul 10.

Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Guelph (ON), Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada.

Rationale: There is evidence that central mu opioid receptors (MORs) are implicated in several aspects of cocaine addiction, and that MOR expression is elevated by cocaine in vitro and in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) when administered in vivo.

Objective: To understand the cellular mechanisms involved in regulating MOR expression, this study explored whether neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) modulates the neurochemical and behavioral effects of acute and repeated cocaine administration.

Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats received a single cocaine injection (20 mg/kg, i. Read More

Neuroimage Clin 2018 9;20:16-23. Epub 2018 May 9.

The Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, NM, United States; University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, ON, Canada. Electronic address:

Error-monitoring abnormalities in stimulant-dependent individuals (SDIs) may be due to reduced awareness of committed errors, or to reduced sensitivity upon such awareness. The distinction between these alternatives remains largely undifferentiated, but may have substantial clinical relevance. We sought to better characterize the nature, and clinical relevance, of SDIs' error-monitoring processes by comparing carefully isolated neural responses during the presentation of negative feedback to a) stimulant dependence status and b) lifetime stimulant use. Read More

J Vis Exp 2018 06 18(136). Epub 2018 Jun 18.

Center for Addiction Research, University of Texas Medical Branch; Mitchell Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Texas Medical Branch; Department of Neurology, University of Texas Medical Branch;

Cocaine use disorder (CUD) follows a trajectory of repetitive self-administration during which previously neutral stimuli gain incentive value. Cue reactivity, the sensitivity to cues previously linked with the drug-taking experience, plays a prominent role in human craving during abstinence. Cue reactivity can be assessed as the attentional orientation toward drug-associated cues that is measurable as appetitive approach behavior in both preclinical and human studies. Read More

Biol Pharm Bull 2018 ;41(7):1084-1088

Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology, Institute of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences, Kanazawa University.

Cocaine-associated environmental cues elicit craving and relapse to cocaine use by recalling the rewarding memory of cocaine. However, the neuronal mechanisms underlying the expression of cocaine-associated memory are not fully understood. Here, we investigated the possible contribution of γ-aminobutyrate (GABA)ergic neurons in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a key brain region associated with the rewarding and reinforcing effects of cocaine, to the expression of cocaine-associated memory using the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm combined with designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADD) technology. Read More

Drug Alcohol Depend 2018 09 23;190:20-28. Epub 2018 Jun 23.

Human Brain Laboratory, Research Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Background: Animal studies suggest that exposure to either of the two widely used drugs of abuse, heroin or cocaine, causes depletion of the antioxidant, reduced glutathione, a hallmark of oxidative stress, in the brain. However, the relevance of the animal findings to the human is uncertain and clinical trials with the antioxidant GSH precursor n-acetylcysteine have produced mixed results in cocaine dependence.

Methods: Our major objective was to compare glutathione levels, determined by an HPLC-coulometric procedure, in autopsied brain of chronic heroin (n = 11) and cocaine users (n = 9), who were positive for the drugs in the brain, to those of matched controls (n = 16). Read More

Nat Commun 2018 06 28;9(1):2521. Epub 2018 Jun 28.

Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.

Neuroeconomic theories propose changes in decision making drive relapse in recovering drug addicts, resulting in continued drug use despite stated wishes not to. Such conflict is thought to arise from multiple valuation systems dependent on separable neural components, yet many neurobiology of addiction studies employ only simple tests of value. Here, we tested in mice how prolonged abstinence from different drugs affects behavior in a neuroeconomic foraging task that reveals multiple tests of value. Read More

Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 2018 Oct 28;26(5):488-496. Epub 2018 Jun 28.

Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

Cocaine use disorder is a serious public health issue for which there is no effective pharmacotherapy. One strategy to speed development of medications for cocaine use disorder is to repurpose drugs already approved for use in humans based on their ability to interact with targets known to be important for addiction. Two such drugs, lorcaserin (Belviq; a drug with serotonin [5-HT]2C receptor agonist properties) and buspirone (Buspar; a drug with 5-HT1A receptor partial agonist and dopamine D3/D4 receptor antagonist properties) can produce modest decreases in cocaine self-administration in rhesus monkeys. Read More

Pathology 2018 Aug 21;50(5):536-539. Epub 2018 Jun 21.

Clinical Biochemistry, Alfred Pathology Service, Alfred Health, Melbourne, Vic, Australia; Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic, Australia.

Cocaine use in Australia is increasing, with approximately 2.5% of the surveyed population having used cocaine. In the USA, levamisole, a widely used anti-helminthic veterinary drug has been increasingly detected as a cutting agent in cocaine seizures. Read More

Med Clin North Am 2018 Jul;102(4):733-743

Department of Health Law, Policy and Management, Boston University School of Public Health, 715 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118, USA.

Sleep and substance use disorders commonly co-occur. Insomnia is commonly associated with use and withdrawal from substances. Circadian rhythm abnormalities are being increasingly linked with psychoactive substance use. Read More

Transl Psychiatry 2018 06 18;8(1):119. Epub 2018 Jun 18.

Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA.

Research of dopaminergic deficits has focused on the ventral striatum (VS) with many studies elucidating altered resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) in individuals with cocaine dependence (CD). The VS comprises functional subregions and delineation of subregional changes in rsFC requires careful consideration of the differences between addicted and healthy populations. In the current study, we parcellated the VS using whole-brain rsFC differences between CD and non-drug-using controls (HC). Read More

Drug Alcohol Depend 2018 08 29;189:70-75. Epub 2018 May 29.

FIDMAG, Germanes Hospitalàries Research Foundation, Avda. Jordà, 8, Barcelona, 08035, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Av. Monforte de Lemos, 3-5 Pabellón, 11. Planta 0, 28029, Spain. Electronic address:

Background: Cocaine abuse has been reported as leading to impaired cognitive function. However, cocaine abusers commonly also abuse alcohol, which can itself produce cognitive impairment. This study, therefore, aimed to examine the potential confounding effect of alcohol abuse on neuropsychological test performance in cocaine and alcohol abusing individuals, comparing them with individuals who abused alcohol alone and non-abusing controls. Read More

Neuroimage Clin 2018 16;18:793-801. Epub 2018 Mar 16.

Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.

Graphic theoretical metrics have become increasingly popular in characterizing functional connectivity of neural networks and how network connectivity is compromised in neuropsychiatric illnesses. Here, we add to this literature by describing dynamic network connectivities of 78 cocaine dependent (CD) and 85 non-drug using healthy control (HC) participants who underwent fMRI during performance of a stop signal task (SST). Compared to HC, CD showed prolonged stop signal reaction time (SSRT), consistent with deficits in response inhibition. Read More

Drug Alcohol Rev 2018 07 5;37(5):645-652. Epub 2018 Jun 5.

Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada.

Introduction And Aims: People who use illicit drugs (PWUD) often engage in drug use during hospitalisation. Adverse outcomes may arise from efforts to conceal inpatient drug use, especially in hospital settings that rely on abstinence-based policies. Harm reduction interventions, including supervised drug consumption services, have not been well studied in hospital settings. Read More

BMJ Case Rep 2018 Jun 4;2018. Epub 2018 Jun 4.

School of Medical Education, King's College London, London, UK.

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2018 06 1;15(6). Epub 2018 Jun 1.

Family Medicine & Primary Care, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University Singapore, Singapore 308232, Singapore.

: Opiates, cannabis, and amphetamines are highly abused, and use of these substances are prevalent disorders. Psychological interventions are crucial given that they help individuals maintain abstinence following a lapse or relapse into substance use. Advances in experimental psychology have suggested that automatic attention biases might be responsible for relapse. Read More

Am J Case Rep 2018 Jun 1;19:630-633. Epub 2018 Jun 1.

Department of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Toledo Medical Center, Toledo, OH, USA.

BACKGROUND Levamisole is a common adulterant of cocaine and up to 69% of seized cocaine in United States contains levamisole. It is a synthetic imidazothiazole derivative which was previously used as an immunomodulating agent for treatment of various connective tissue disorders and colorectal carcinoma. However, it was withdrawn later from the market due to significant toxicity associated with it. Read More

Drug Alcohol Depend 2018 07 26;188:259-265. Epub 2018 Apr 26.

Human Brain Laboratory, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), 33 Russell St., Toronto, ON M5S 2S1, Canada.

Background: It is assumed that recreational use of methamphetamine can trigger acute myocardial infarction (AMI) events, but estimates of longitudinal hazards of AMI among methamphetamine users are lacking.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study: Competing-risks analysis was used to estimate time-to-AMI patterns in methamphetamine versus matched appendicitis (population-proxy) and matched cocaine (drug-control) groups. Cohorts were propensity-score-matched using demographic and clinical variables. Read More

J Bras Pneumol 2018 Apr;44(2):145-152

Instituto de Doenças do Tórax, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.

Tuberculosis continues to be a major public health problem. Although efforts to control the epidemic have reduced mortality and incidence, there are several predisposing factors that should be modified in order to reduce the burden of the disease. This review article will address some of the risk factors associated with tuberculosis infection and active tuberculosis, including diabetes, smoking, alcohol use, and the use of other drugs, all of which can also contribute to poor tuberculosis treatment results. Read More