You can receive independent, expert advice on alcohol treatment for yourself or friends and family by telephoning DryOutNow.com on 0845 370 0203

A friend or relative of someone who is drinking heavily often recognises that this has become a problem before the person themselves. If you are in this situation, do not hesitate to call now for immediate confidential advice and support.

An experimental drug that blocks the euphoric feelings associated with drinking may prevent alcoholics from relapsing. The finding, the result of a mouse study at Oregon Health & Science University, could lead to human clinical trials within the next year.

"We showed we could block behaviour in mice that resembles this increased euphoria even after the animals had been given a lot of alcohol," said Tamara Phillips, Ph.D., professor and vice chair of the behavioural neuroscience department at OHSU and a research scientist at the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center. "That's what you want in a treatment, because we don't get to people until after they become addicted to alcohol."

Earlier research has shown that some people's brains become sensitized as a result of chronic exposure to alcohol. This change in the brain does not subside after people quit drinking. So when they begin consuming alcohol again, "they get a bigger jolt," Phillips said.

Alcohol consumption causes the body to release a substance known as "corticotrophin-releasing factor" or CRF. It activates receptors in the brain. Phillips and her team determined that a brain receptor called CRF1 appears to be involved in this heightened pleasure sensation. They compared the responses of normal mice and mice bred without the CRF1 receptor to chronic doses of alcohol. Mice without the CRF1 receptor did not experience the euphoric jolt the normal mice demonstrated.

The research team also took normal mice with the CRF1 receptor and exposed them to chronic doses of alcohol. Before testing for the euphoric response, the researchers gave the mice an experimental drug called CP 154,526 – developed by Pfizer – which prevents CRF from reaching the brain receptor. This group of mice also did not experience the heightened reaction.

Phillips' study recently was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences. The results may be particularly applicable to stress-induced relapse. That's because the CRF1 receptor also triggers the body's response to stress.

This could have implications for PTSD patients. "I think if you block this receptor, you might be able to decrease drinking in response to PTSD," Phillips said.

The next step is testing CP 154,526 to see if it is safe for use in humans. If it clears that hurdle, researchers will start human trials to determine if the drug can prevent alcoholic relapse.

Reference: Raul Pastor et al., 'Corticotropin-releasing factor-1 receptor involvement in behavioral neuroadaptation to ethanol: A urocortin1-independent mechanism', PNAS, July 1, 2008 vol. 105 no. 26 9070-9075

Article published on 15/08/2008 by DryOutNow.com

DryOutNow.com provides highly practical help for people with alcohol problems, their friends and relatives. DryOutNow.com also provides free resources for healthcare professionals such as medical information and alcohol treatment guidelines.

• Launch of alcohol treatment service ...... read
• Conditions in the college environment encourage binge drinking ...... read
• Overindulgence of alcohol encouraged by loud music ...... read
• Pregnant substance users can deliver healthy babies with early treatment ...... read
• Minimum Drinking Age of 21 Saves Lives, Study Finds ...... read
• Binge drinking findings have implications for policy makers ...... read
• New research on Substance Abuse and Bipolar Adolescents ...... read
• Advertising, Alcohol and Adolescents ...... read