The postmortem samples were taken from eight cocaine addicts, eight alcoholics and eight controls, all men. All subjects in the cocaine and alcohol groups met DSM-IV criteria for abuse or dependence. The cocaine addicts had long-standing histories of cocaine abuse and the deaths were attributed to cocaine intoxication. None of the cocaine addicts had a history of other drug misuse/dependence or of alcohol misuse/dependence and had not been drinking prior to death. The alcoholics had histories of chronic heavy alcohol consumption and all had enlarged livers: four had fatty livers, one had hepatic fibrosis. None had hepatic encephalopathy. None of the alcoholics had a history of drug misuse/dependence and a drug screen at the time of death was negative. The controls were age-matched and drug and alcohol free (negative urine screens, no history of licit or illicit drug use prior to death). Based on medical examiners' reports, next-of-kin informant reports, medical records and legal records, none of the subjects in this study had any other psychiatric disorders.
