An oral drug that treats alcoholism and has very few side effects may be available in five or six years, according to scientists, including one of Indian origin, who have identified compounds drastically reduced drinking in rats.
The exact causes of alcoholism are not well understood, but the urge to drink is related to the pleasure centers of the brain, according VVN Tiruveedhula Phani Babu, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Alcohol causes the brain to release dopamine neurochemi lime. Some drugs available for treating alcoholism are directed to dopamine.
"They dampen the dopamine system a bit, so do not be so happy when you have an alcoholic drink," said James Cook, a chemist at the University of Wisconsin, which advises Tiruveedhula. However, these drugs, derived from a class of compounds called opioid antagonists, cause depression in some patients, said Cook. They are addictive themselves, which can lead to drug abuse. Valium is an example of another drug commonly used to treat alcoholism, which is also addictive.
Looking for an alternative, Cook focused on molecules that cause some of the same Valium and opioid antagonists with unwanted side effects results.
Tiruveedhula betacarboline has now made several promising compounds that could represent the future of treatment of alcoholism.
Cook said that these potential drugs could be taken orally. In tests on rats bred to crave alcohol, scientists found that the administration of these compounds drastically reduced drinking in rats. They saw very few of the common side effects of alcoholism treatment drugs, such as depression and loss of the ability to experience pleasure. The drugs appear to reduce anxiety in "alcoholic" rats, but not in control rats.
"What excites me is that the compounds are orally active, and cause depression, as some drugs do," Cook said. The group is testing the compounds in additional animal studies. If all goes well, Cook said, a drug could be ready for market in five or six years.
Drinking ups risk of cancer in smokers
Even now it has found the slightest amount of alcohol increase the risk of certain cancers in women and men smokers. While in women, light to moderate drinking -consuming only one drink per day was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer in men, even the slightest amount of alcohol increases the risk of cancer in those who had smoked. US researchers based at Harvard and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston assessed the risk of total cancer and alcohol-related cancers known as cancer of the colon and rectum, female breast, liver and oral cavity.
The exact causes of alcoholism are not well understood, but the urge to drink is related to the pleasure centers of the brain, according VVN Tiruveedhula Phani Babu, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Alcohol causes the brain to release dopamine neurochemi lime. Some drugs available for treating alcoholism are directed to dopamine.
"They dampen the dopamine system a bit, so do not be so happy when you have an alcoholic drink," said James Cook, a chemist at the University of Wisconsin, which advises Tiruveedhula. However, these drugs, derived from a class of compounds called opioid antagonists, cause depression in some patients, said Cook. They are addictive themselves, which can lead to drug abuse. Valium is an example of another drug commonly used to treat alcoholism, which is also addictive.
Looking for an alternative, Cook focused on molecules that cause some of the same Valium and opioid antagonists with unwanted side effects results.
Tiruveedhula betacarboline has now made several promising compounds that could represent the future of treatment of alcoholism.
Cook said that these potential drugs could be taken orally. In tests on rats bred to crave alcohol, scientists found that the administration of these compounds drastically reduced drinking in rats. They saw very few of the common side effects of alcoholism treatment drugs, such as depression and loss of the ability to experience pleasure. The drugs appear to reduce anxiety in "alcoholic" rats, but not in control rats.
"What excites me is that the compounds are orally active, and cause depression, as some drugs do," Cook said. The group is testing the compounds in additional animal studies. If all goes well, Cook said, a drug could be ready for market in five or six years.
Drinking ups risk of cancer in smokers
Even now it has found the slightest amount of alcohol increase the risk of certain cancers in women and men smokers. While in women, light to moderate drinking -consuming only one drink per day was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer in men, even the slightest amount of alcohol increases the risk of cancer in those who had smoked. US researchers based at Harvard and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston assessed the risk of total cancer and alcohol-related cancers known as cancer of the colon and rectum, female breast, liver and oral cavity.
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