RT Journal Article T1 Serotonin is the main tryptophan metabolite associated with psychiatric comorbidity in abstinent cocaine-addicted patients. A1 Araos, Pedro A1 Vidal, Rebeca A1 O'Shea, Esther A1 Pedraz, Maria A1 Garcia-Marchena, Nuria A1 Serrano, Antonia A1 Suarez, Juan A1 Castilla-Ortega, Estela A1 Ruiz, Juan Jesus A1 Campos-Cloute, Rafael A1 Santin, Luis J A1 Rodriguez-de-Fonseca, Fernando A1 Pavon, Francisco Javier A1 Colado, Maria Isabel K1 Kynurenic Acid K1 Mental Disorders K1 Serotonin K1 Tryptophan AB The lack of effective treatments and a high rate of relapse in cocaine addiction constitute a major health problem. The present study was conducted to examine the expression of tryptophan-derived metabolites in the context of cocaine addiction and psychiatric comorbidity, which is common in addicted subjects. Abstinent patients with cocaine use disorder (CUD) and control subjects were recruited for a cross-sectional study. Participants were assessed with a semi-structured diagnostic interview (PRISM) based on DSM-IV-TR for substance and mental disorders. Plasma concentrations of tryptophan metabolites and their association with relevant CUD-related variables and psychiatric comorbidity were explored. We observed decreased plasma kynurenic acid concentrations in the cocaine group, however no associations between CUD-related variables and tryptophan-derived metabolites were found. In contrast, 5-HT concentrations were increased in CUD-patients and the diagnosis of different psychiatric disorders in the cocaine group was related to higher plasma 5-HT concentrations compared with non-comorbid patients. Therefore, while changes in plasma kynurenic acid concentrations appear to be directly associated with lifetime CUD, changes in 5-HT concentrations are associated with psychiatric comorbidity. These results emphasize the need to find potential biomarkers for a better stratification of cocaine-addicted patients in order to develop therapeutic approaches to prevent cocaine relapse. PB Nature Publishing Group YR 2019 FD 2019-11-14 LK http://hdl.handle.net/10668/14691 UL http://hdl.handle.net/10668/14691 LA en NO Araos P, Vidal R, O'Shea E, Pedraz M, García-Marchena N, Serrano A, et al. Serotonin is the main tryptophan metabolite associated with psychiatric comorbidity in abstinent cocaine-addicted patients. Sci Rep. 2019 Nov 14;9(1):16842 NO The present study was supported by RETICS Red de Trastornos Adictivos (RD16/0017/0001 and RD16/0017/0021) funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISC-III) and European Regional Development FundsEuropean Union (ERDF-EU); Research projects funded by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad and ISC-III (PI16/01698 and PI16/01953); Research project funded by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (PSI2013-44901-P to LJS); Research project funded by Ministerio de Sanidad, Servicios Sociales e Igualdad and Plan Nacional sobre Drogas (PNSD 049/2013 and PNSD 2017I017); Research project funded by Consejería de Economía, Innovación y Ciencia, Junta de Andalucía and ERDF-EU (CTS-433). JS, AS and FJP hold Miguel Servet research contracts funded by ISC-III and ERDF-EU (CP12/03109, CP14/00173 and CP14/00212, respectively). EC-O holds a Young Research grant funded by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Agencia Estatal de Investigación) and ERDF-EU (PSI2015-73156-JIN). PA received a Plan Propio grant from Universidad de Málaga (Incorporación Doctores CI-17-415). DS RISalud RD Jul 7, 2025