Scientists are working on a new drug that could treat alcohol abuse disorder by blocking pleasure receptors in the brain that are activated when one drinks.
Writing in the Journal of Medical Chemistry recently, scientists were looking at how reward pathways in the brain can be modified to block the positive effects of alcohol.
In previous experiments on rats, researchers found that those animals that lacked the protein GR88 drank alcohol more than rats with the protein.
The researchers engineered a compound that blocks the GR88 receptor in a rat brain and found it drank less alcohol than before they received the drug. To compare, the scientists monitored the rats intake of sugar water, which remained unchanged with or without the protein inhibitor.
The research team was led by Chunyang Jin, Ph.D. at the Center for Drug Discovery at the Research Triangle Institute in North Carolina.
The researchers said they were motivated to find new ways to treat alcohol use disorder because current medications, while approved by the Food and Drug Administration, have low success and adherence rates and cause significant side effects.
Naltrexone is a drug that blocks euphoric feelings from opioids and alcohol, so that when a person uses either substance they don’t receive the same high and makes it easier to taper off. Acamprosate, brand name Campral, operates in a similar way and both have side effects that make it uncomfortable for the user, such as diarrhea, headache, nausea, vomiting, body aches, among others.
The authors hope further study of GR88 and manipulation the reward center can lead to more effective treatments for alcohol use disorder.
• Laura Kelly can be reached at lkelly@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.