Cocaine use linked to Parkinson's disease

MEMPHIS, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Researchers at a Memphis hospital say that cocaine use increases the chance of Parkinson's disease later in life.

The team at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital say that the children of cocaine-using mothers are also at risk of Parkinson's from exposure in the womb.

Researchers use computer models to show that cocaine use alters part of the brain known as the substantia nigra, making the brain more vulnerable to a toxin linked to Parkinson's.

The findings could mean an epidemic of Parkinson's as people who abused cocaine during the 1970s and 1980s become older. There are about 2 million cocaine users in the United States now.

The study was published in the online edition of the journal Neuroscience.