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Alcohol Treatment Research: Study reveals possible new therapy for alcoholism

In new research, published in the May 28, 2008 edition of The Journal of Neuroscience, scientists found that gabapentin normalises 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. In the study, alcohol-dependent rodents receiving gabapentin drank less alcohol.

The results are exciting, said Scripps Research Assistant Professor Marisa Roberto, Ph.D., who was first author of the study. 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.

In previous studies, gabapentin has been shown to effectively treat alcohol withdrawal and reduce alcohol consumption and cravings following detoxification in alcoholics. However, how gabapentin could act to combat alcohol dependence in the brain has been unclear. The new study sheds light on this question by detailing the action of gabapentin (known commercially as Neurontin) on neural signalling in the brain.

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

The scientists plan to further explore the mechanism of action of gabapentin in the brain. In addition, clinical trials on the effectiveness of gabapentin as a treatment for alcohol dependence are currently under way at The Scripps Research Institute.

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