New Drug Can Help Alcoholics Overcome Addiction
There is already a drug on the market, Revia, which treats alcoholism by reducing the body’s ability to enjoy its effects.
This new drug cuts cravings
by taking the edge off of stressful situations which might push recovering alcoholics to pick up the bottle again.
Behavioral stress is a major factor in extending the ‘vicious cycle’ of alcoholism, said lead author Markus Heilig, clinical director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
That’s because alcohol deprivation causes depression and increased sensitivity to stressful situations such as an argument with a spouse or tension at work.
‘Alcohol is a particularly nasty drug because it actually makes you feel better, but it pushes you to feel worse once you’re without alcohol,’ he told AFP.
The drug Heilig and his team tested targets an area of the brain, the neurokinin 1 receptor, which mediates responses to behavioral stress. It had previously been shown to reduce social anxiety but did not enter the market because results were inconsistent.
Helig and his team first tested its effectiveness on mice and then on a group of 50 alcoholics with anxiety problems who had been through detox and remained hospitalized for the four weeks of the trial.
Half were given a placebo and the other half were given the drug.
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