Cocaine‐Induced Lipidomic Alterations in Human Blood for the Study of Addictive Behaviors

While a majority of cocaine research focuses on identification of therapies targeting dependence, few detection strategies exist to aid in clinical determination of susceptibility or likelihood of relapse. To enhance our understanding of the full spectrum of cocaine-induced effects, we used a lipidomics approach to investigate the ability of cocaine to remodel the blood lipidome. Lipids were extracted from 190 human blood samples (123 drug users, 67 non-users) and analyzed using electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry. The resulting data were assessed using multivariate analysis, which indicated differences in the lipid profiles of drug users compared to non-users. Identification of m/z features suggested alterations in glycerolipids, fatty acids, phosphatidylcholines, and phosphatidic acids. A subset of repeat abusers were asked to rate the positive and negative effects following their first cocaine exposure in comparison to their most recent use. These scores were used to assess the extent of enhanced...