Zuo Yantao, Mukhin Alexey G, Garg Sudha, Nazih Rachid, Behm Frederique M, Garg Pradeep K, Rose Jed E
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
Center for Molecular Imaging and Therapy, Biomedical Research Foundation, Shreveport, LA, USA.
Neuropsychopharmacology. 2015 Mar;40(4):884-92. doi: 10.1038/npp.2014.263. Epub 2014 Sep 30.
Menthol cigarettes are likely associated with greater risks of smoking dependence than non-menthol cigarettes. We sought to test the hypothesis that menthol increases the rate of brain nicotine accumulation (BNA) during smoking and thereby enhances its addictive effects. In a counter-balanced cross-over design, 10 menthol and 9 non-menthol smokers (10 females and 9 males; mean age 44.3) underwent two study phases. In each phase, the participant smoked exclusively either menthol or non-menthol research cigarettes for approximately 1 week prior to a positron emission tomography (PET) scan session, during which the subject's head was scanned following inhalation of a single puff of smoke from a cigarette containing (11)C-nicotine. No differences in initial slope, Cmax, area under curve (AUC), and T1/2 of BNA were found between menthol and non-menthol cigarettes across all subjects; however, menthol relative to non-menthol cigarettes were associated with steeper initial slopes in men (p=0.008). Unexpectedly, women had faster BNA as indicated by greater values of the initial slope, Cmax, AUC, and shorter T1/2 than men (all ps<0.04). The rates of BNA were significantly correlated with ratings of smoking motivations of getting a 'rush', getting relaxing effects and marginally with alleviation of craving. These results do not provide strong support for the putative role of menthol in enhancing BNA, although further studies should explore the apparent effect of menthol on BNA in men. Fast BNA during smoking and preference of sensory properties of menthol cigarettes may independently or jointly contribute to smoking dependence among women.
薄荷醇香烟可能比非薄荷醇香烟具有更高的吸烟依赖风险。我们试图检验这一假设：薄荷醇会增加吸烟过程中大脑尼古丁积累（BNA）的速率，从而增强其成瘾作用。在一项平衡交叉设计中，10名吸薄荷醇香烟者和9名吸非薄荷醇香烟者（10名女性和9名男性；平均年龄44.3岁）经历了两个研究阶段。在每个阶段，参与者在进行正电子发射断层扫描（PET）之前，仅吸薄荷醇或非薄荷醇研究香烟约1周，在此期间，受试者吸入一口含有（11）C-尼古丁的香烟后进行头部扫描。在所有受试者中，薄荷醇香烟和非薄荷醇香烟在BNA的初始斜率、Cmax、曲线下面积（AUC）和T1/2方面均未发现差异；然而，相对于非薄荷醇香烟，薄荷醇香烟在男性中的初始斜率更陡（p = 0.008）。出乎意料的是，女性的BNA更快，表现为初始斜率、Cmax、AUC值更高，T1/2比男性更短（所有p值均<0.04）。BNA的速率与获得“快感”、获得放松效果的吸烟动机评分显著相关，与缓解渴望的评分有微弱关联。这些结果并未为薄荷醇在增强BNA方面的假定作用提供有力支持，尽管进一步的研究应探讨薄荷醇对男性BNA的明显影响。吸烟期间快速的BNA以及对薄荷醇香烟感官特性的偏好可能独立或共同导致女性吸烟成瘾。
