Chronic inhalation effects of crack cocaine in the respiratory system of mice / Efeitos da inalação crônica de cocaína "crack" no aparelho respiratório de camundongos

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2007

RESUMO

INTRODUCTION: One of the illegal ways of using cocaine is smoking its rock through a burning cocaine basis shaped resin (crack cocaine). The use of crack cocaine may cause chronic and severe alterations in the respiratory system. In this research, the chronic inhalation effects of "crack" cocaine in mice respiratory systems were studied. METHODS: Forty male Balb/c mice, 60-days-old (10 control animals and 30 exposed) were utilized in this study. Ten of them were chosen to determine the level of silky cocaine after one single exposition. Twenty animals were exposed to crack smoke in an inhalation chamber, 5 days a week, during 2 months. All the control animals were kept in the housing unit. Quantitative morphometric analysis of histological cuts in the nose and lung were realized across by the optical microscopy. The following were quantified: the thickness, likewise the amount of mucus in nasal and bronchial epitheliums, lung hemosiderin, ply of the sheet and the rate of vasoconstriction in lung arteries of small diameter, in addition to the density of macrophages and neutrophiles inside of alveolar and peribronchial regions. A comparison between the high-risk and control group was established. The differences were considered significant when p<0,05. RESULTS: In the nasal epithelium, an increase of mucus was observed (p<0,001), as well as a decrease of its thickness (p<0,001) in the high-risk group. In the bronchial epithelium, there was no alteration in the amount of mucus (p=0,075) between the groups, but there was a significant decrease in the epithelial ply (p<0,001) inside of the exposed group. There was an increase of lung hemosiderin (p<0,001) in the exposed group. In arteries of small diameter, there was no expansion of the thickness in the sheet (p=0,782) between the groups, although the level of vasoconstriction was significantly higher (p=0,034) in the exposed group. The cellular density of macrophages was higher in the alveolar region (p=0,001), as in the peribronchial one (p=0,001). The cellular density observed in neutrophiles was higher in the alveolar site (p=0,002) of the exposed group, since that in the peribronchial region the difference was not significant (p=0,419) between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that crack inhalation may cause alterations in the respiratory system, affecting from the nasal mucus until the lung parenchyma. This research contributes for a better comprehension of the adverse effects originating from a chronic use of crack cocaine in the respiratory tract.

ASSUNTO(S)

camundongos pulmão transtornos relacionados ao uso de substâncias disturbs related to the use of substances mice. cocaína "crack" lung nose nariz crack cocaine

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