Evaluation of plasma cytokines in patients with cocaine use disorders in abstinence identifies transforming growth factor alpha (TGFα) as a potential biomarker of consumption and dual diagnosis.

Background: Cocaine use disorder (CUD) is a complex health condition, especially when it is accompanied by comorbid psychiatric disorders (dual diagnosis). Dual diagnosis is associated with difficulties in the stratification and treatment of patients. One of the major challenges in clinical practice of addiction psychiatry is the lack of objective biological markers that indicate the degree of consumption, severity of addiction, level of toxicity and response to treatment in patients with CUD.