Call 888-647-0579 to speak with an alcohol or drug abuse counselor.

Who Answers?

Seizure drug shows promise as potential therapy for alcoholism

A new study conducted on mice has shown that a seizure drug, called gabapentin, could act as a potential therapy for alcoholism by reversing cellular effects.

In the study, alcohol-dependent rodents receiving gabapentin drank less alcohol, and this led the scientists to say that gabapentin normalizes the action of certain brain cells altered by chronic alcohol abuse in an area of the brain known as the central amygdala, which plays an important role in fear- and stress-related behaviours, as well as in regulating alcohol drinking.

“The results are exciting. Our research shows that gabapentin not only changes the alcohol-consumption patterns of addicted rats (and not of the control group), but also may reverse some of the effects of addiction on a specific neurotransmitter in the brain,” said Scripps Research Assistant Professor Marisa Roberto, Ph.D., who was first author of the study.

“This is an example of the strength of the translational approach of the Pearson Center, where the clinical uses of gabapentin led us to hypothesize that gabapentin may act to restore homeostatic dysregulation of the GABAergic system. Cellular and behavioral studies converged to suggest that indeed gabapentin could normalize GABAergic tone in a specific brain region known to be dysregulated in dependent animals. Such results provide a strong rationale for translating these observations back to the clinical setting for the treatment of alcoholism,” said George Koob, Ph.D., a member of the research team.

Earlier, gabapentin was shown to effectively treat alcohol withdrawal and reduce alcohol consumption and cravings following detoxification in alcoholics, but the mechanism was unclear.

In the new study, researchers have detailed the action of gabapentin (known commercially as Neurontin)-a structural analogue of the inhibitory synaptic transmitter gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA)-on neural signalling in the brain.

The scientists first tested the effects of gabapentin on the behaviour of alcohol-dependent and non-dependent rats and found that alcohol-dependent rats that received gabapentin drank significantly less alcohol and demonstrated less anxiety-like behaviour in the face of alcohol abstinence than those who did not receive the drug. However, the behaviour of non-dependent rats receiving gabapentin remained unaffected. The results were same when the rats received gabapentin systemically and when the medication was infused directly into the central amygdala region of the brain.

At the cellular level, dependence on alcohol is linked to increased strength of inhibitory synapses (junctions between two nerve cells) in the central amygdala. And now the researchers have found that gabapentin, like alcohol, increased the strength of these central amygdala inhibitory synapse cells from non-dependent rats, but decreased their strength in cells from alcohol-dependent rats.

However, in the presence of a specific inhibitor of so-called GABAB receptors, these effects of gabapentin disappeared, which suggested that gabapentin’s cellular mechanisms likely involve changes in release of the transmitter GABA at the inhibitory synapses.

Also, they found that the sensitivity of GABAB receptors decreased with alcohol dependence, suggesting a biological mechanism for the development of alcohol dependence in general and for gabapentin’s contrasting effects before and after long-term alcohol exposure in particular.

Now, the scientists are planning to further explore the mechanism of action of gabapentin in the brain.

The study is published in the latest edition of The Journal of Neuroscience.
_________
source: Asian News International

More Treatment & Detox Articles

Treatment of Eating disorder for teens

Eating disorder is particularly seen in the teenagers and mostly in girls as compared to the boys. A person with an eating disorder “typically starves himself” to lose weight. Though the exact cause of this disorder is not clear, this disorder is said to be a combination of various factors like genetics, physiological and social…..

Researchers alarmed by binge drinking on campus

An alarming number of 21-year-olds are participating in a dangerous practice of consuming 21 alcoholic beverages to celebrate reaching legal drinking age, according to a new report by researchers at the University of Missouri. More than a third of men and a quarter of women surveyed at the university who drank alcohol the day they….

Combination Benefits Patients With Comorbid Depression, Alcoholism

Treatment that combines sertraline and naltrexone appears to be superior to treatment with either drug alone, as well as to placebo, for individuals with depression and alcohol dependence. Patients receiving the combination treatment were more likely to achieve abstinence and had delayed relapse to heavy drinking, according to a report posted in the March 15….

Binge Drinking Clogs Arteries With Plaque

The specific pathway through which binge drinking contributes to clogged arteries has been identified by University of Rochester Medical Center researchers. Alcoholic beverages contain ethanol, which is mostly converted into acetaldehyde. The Rochester team found that binge drinking-related levels of acetaldehyde make immune cells called monocyctes more likely to stick to blood vessel walls and….

Clinical physician argues changes needed to cut into alcohol abuse

Fighting the estimated $5 billion impact of alcohol and drug abuse on society requires more than stricter criminal laws, a physician told a local group Friday. Dr. Richard Brown, Wisconsin Initiative to Promote Healthy Lifestyles clinical director, argued there are several ways to cut such costs in courts, social services and health care: Boost community….