Science / Medicine : Cocaine Tied to Muscle Ills

In addition to other health hazards, a new study released Wednesday indicates that cocaine can cause a muscle disease and kidney failure. Researchers at the University of Miami School of Medicine in Florida reported the cases of 39 patients who came into the emergency room suffering from cocaine intoxication.

All 39 patients were suffering from a disease known as rhabdomyolysis, a potentially fatal disease marked by the deterioration of muscles. Thirteen of the patients also had acute kidney failure. Six of those died. Eleven patients also had liver malfunction.

“We conclude that cocaine intoxication can cause acute rhabdomyolysis with acute renal failure (and) severe liver dysfunction,” the researchers wrote in reporting their findings in the New England Journal of Medicine.