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Recently, there has been an enormous increase in the number of people seeking treatment for cocaine addiction. Fifteen male cocaine users aged 20-30 years who requested hair analysis from our forensic toxicology laboratory (Perugia, Italy) from March to June 2012, reported using scopolamine without medical supervision to reduce the anxiety associated with cocaine withdrawal. Self-reports were verified with the results obtained from the hair analysis. We discuss whether the use of scopolamine in cocaine abusers could be supported by a neurobiological and pharmacological point of view.

Glucocorticoid-Induced TNFR family Related gene (GITR), a Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor Superfamily (TNFRSF) member involved in immune/inflammatory processes, has been previously shown to regulate T cell activation. To study GITR role in antigen presenting cells, we evaluated the capability of bone marrow derived dendritic cells (BMDC) from GITR(-/-) mice to stimulate the activation of CD4(+)CD25(-) T lymphocytes. We found that GITR(-/-) BMDC are weaker stimulators of T cell proliferation than GITR(+/+) BMDC, either in syngenic or allogenic BMDC/T cell co-cultures. Expression of GITR in GITR(-/-) BMDC restored their ability to activate T cells while GITR silencing in GITR(+/+) BMDC inhibited the capability to stimulate T cells. GITR(-/-) BMDC showed a reduced production of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6 and an increased production of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. Notably, co-culture of CD4(+)CD25(-) cells with GITR(-/-) BMDC originated FoxP3(+) cells, secreting IL-10 and TGF-β. Finally, in vivo injection of GITR(-/-) OVA-loaded BMDC led to a lower cell number and a lower activated cell number in draining lymph nodes than in GITR(+/+) OVA-loaded BMDC injected mice. Together, these results indicate that GITR plays a role in regulating BMDC activity., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)