Sex differences in plasma cocaine levels and subjective effects after acute cocaine administration in human volunteers

Gender differences after acute cocaine administration have received little attention in spite of the fact that males and females respond differently to many drugs. Seven male and seven female occasional cocaine users received both an intranasal dose of cocaine hydrochloride (0.9 mg/kg) and placebo p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychopharmacology 1996-06, Vol.125 (4), p.346-354
Main Authors: Lukas, S E, Sholar, M, Lundahl, L H, Lamas, X, Kouri, E, Wines, J D, Kragie, L, Mendelson, J H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Administration, Intranasal
Adult
Affect - drug effects
Blood Pressure - drug effects
Cocaine - blood
Cocaine - pharmacology
Female
Follicular Phase - metabolism
Heart Rate - drug effects
Humans
Luteal Phase - metabolism
Male
Menstrual Cycle - metabolism
Narcotics - blood
Narcotics - pharmacology
Sex Factors
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Summary:Gender differences after acute cocaine administration have received little attention in spite of the fact that males and females respond differently to many drugs. Seven male and seven female occasional cocaine users received both an intranasal dose of cocaine hydrochloride (0.9 mg/kg) and placebo powder in a randomized order and reported subjective effects via an instrumental joystick device and various questionnaires. Blood samples were withdrawn at 5-min intervals to assess pharmacokinetic differences. Male subjects achieved the highest peak plasma cocaine levels (144.4 +/- 17.5 ng/ml), detected cocaine effects significantly faster than females and also experienced a greater number of episodes of intense good and bad effects. Women studied during the follicular phase of their menstrual cycle had peak plasma cocaine levels of 73.2 +/- 9.9 ng/ml, which was significantly higher than when they were studied during their luteal phase (54.7 +/- 8.7 ng/ml), but there were no differences in their subjective reports of cocaine effects. In spite of the different cocaine blood levels and subjective effects, peak heart rate increases did not differ between males and females suggesting that women may be more sensitive than males to the cardiovascular effects of cocaine. These data suggest that there are significant gender and menstrual cycle differences in the response to acute intranasal cocaine administration and these differences may have implications for the differential abuse of this drug.
ISSN:0033-3158
1432-2072
DOI:10.1007/BF02246017