Hyperphosphorylated tau and amyloid precursor protein deposition is increased in the brains of young drug abusers

Drug abuse is a major problem worldwide. The incidence of drug‐related deaths attributed to opiate abuse is increasing annually. Apart from routine examination, little is known of the neuropathology of drug abuse. We, and others, have shown previously that drug abuse is associated with microglial activation. We hypothesised that neuroinflammation might lead to premature neurodegeneration in drug abusers. We investigated the brains of young opiate abusers (n = 34, all