Molecular Research in Substance Abuse: Toxicity, Neurotoxicity and Neuropathological Findings

Dear Colleagues,

Drug abuse represents a significant health and social issue worldwide and is associated with substantial morbility and mortality. Neurotoxicity is defined as any adverse effect on the structure or function of the central and peripheral nervous systems at the result of a diversity of biological, chemical, or physical agents. The accumulated evidence suggests that drug-induced neurotoxicity is mediated by activation of several neurotransmitter systems including dopamine and glutamate that work in concert to damage the brain. Nevertheless, studies on the exact mechanisms of cellular and neuronal damages are still scarce in the literature.

The drugs of abuse, consumed either as a single substance or in combination, include opiates, cannabis, cocaine, amphetamines and methamphetamine as well as new psychoactive substances, which represent a recent and growing matter of concern. For epidemiological studies and for the impact of a possible drug abuse in an individual’s health affection or death the sampling of appropriate biological material for detailed toxicological studies is of utmost importance. Since the prevalent pattern of drug abuse is the polydrug consumption, including the combination of drugs and other substances, e.g. alcohol and nicotine, it is nearly impossible to ascribe neuropathological findings to a single substance. Furthermore, many drugs contain potentially neurotoxic adulterants and diluents.  

Although no brain lesion specific for drug abuse exists, a broad spectrum of changes affecting the central nervous system (CNS) is seen in drug abusers. In addition, morphological, physiological, and neurochemical abnormalities have been demonstrated by using histopathology, immunohistochemistry, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

This Special Issue will focus on the biological aspects of drug addiction in a broad sense, including genetics, biochemical, physiological, functional or structural correlates found in the brain, but also in peripheral body tissues or organs. Understanding the biological basis of drug addiction will provide valuable opportunities for its prevention, diagnosis and treatment, since biological variables may serve as both biomarkers and therapeutic targets for the disease. Manuscripts dealing with the biological basis of behavioral addictions (i.e. sex, gambling, exercise, social media) are also welcome.

The objective of this Special Issue is to collect original and review articles to provide the most updated molecular and morphological knowledge in the field of drug abuse including biochemical, physiological, histopathological, structural correlates found in the brain. Manuscripts dealing with the biological basis of behavioral addictions (i.e., sex, gambling, exercise, social media) are also welcome.

Dr. Angelo Montana
Dr. Arianna Giorgetti
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomedicines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• drug abuse
• neurotoxicity
• neuropathology
• histopathology
• immunohistochemistry
• toxicology
• toxicogenetics
• in vitro, in vivo, and in silico models
• hypoxic–ischaemic brain injury
• biomarkers
• behavioral addictions