Alcohol plus cocaine : The whole is more than the sum of its parts

• Published in: Therapeutic drug monitoring Vol. 18; no. 4; pp. 460 - 464
• Main Authors: JATLOW, P, MCCANCE, E. F, BRADBERRY, C. W, ELSWORTH, J. D, TAYLOR, J. R, ROTH, R. H
• Format: Conference Proceeding Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hagerstown, MD Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 01-08-1996
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Central Nervous System Depressants - administration & dosage; Central Nervous System Depressants - metabolism; Cocaine - administration & dosage; Cocaine - analogs & derivatives; Cocaine - metabolism; Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors - administration & dosage; Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors - metabolism; Drug addictions; Ethanol - administration & dosage; Ethanol - metabolism; Humans; Medical sciences; Narcotics - administration & dosage; Narcotics - metabolism; Opioid-Related Disorders; Substance Abuse Detection; Toxicology; Human; Dopamine; Poison interaction; Ethanol; Metabolite; Metabolism toxicity relation; Cocaine; Drug of abuse; Catecholamine; Mechanism of action; Toxic association
• ISSN: 0163-4356; 1536-3694
• DOI: 10.1097/00007691-199608000-00026

Cocaethylene, an active metabolite that arises through hepatic transesterification of cocaine when cocaine and ethanol are used together, shares many neurochemical and pharmacological properties with cocaine. Cocaethylene is similar to cocaine in its properties as an indirect dopamine agonist, and human subjects cannot distinguish its effects from those of cocaine. Cocaethylene, and especially its isopropyl analog, are more selective indirect dopamine agonists than cocaine, with relatively weak potency at the serotonin transporter. Cocaethylene may contribute to the manifestations and consequences of combined cocaine and ethanol use, although its relative importance remains unclear.