A drug called dexmedetomidine is effective in countering the cardiovascular effects of cocaine, such as elevated heart rate and blood pressure, according to researchers at the UT Southwestern Medical Center.

The drug is normally used as an anesthetic; the small-scale study found that it appears to interfere with cocaine's ability to increase nerve activity.

"Typically, patients with cocaine overdoses in the emergency room are treated with nitroglycerin, sedatives such as Valium, and some blood-pressure medications such as calcium channel blockers and some beta blockers," said study author Wanpen Vongpatanasin. "However, the standard treatments don't alleviate all of the adverse effects of cocaine on the heart, blood pressure and central nervous system."

The study appears in the Aug. 14, 2007 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.