America
Indian-origin student offers novel way to treat alcoholism
New York, Aug 19
An Indian-American student
has discovered promising new compounds that can reduce alcoholics'
impulse to drink with a new drug that can be ready for the market in
five to six years.
In tests using rats bred to crave alcohol, the
scientists found that administering these compounds drastically
diminished the rats' drinking.
They also observed very few of the
side effects common to alcoholism treatment drugs such as depression
and losing the ability to experience pleasure.
"Alcoholism is a
major problem. We need a better treatment right now,†said V.V.N. Phani
Babu Tiruveedhula, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin,
Milwaukee.
The drugs also appeared to reduce anxiety in "alcoholic" rats but not in control rats.
Scientists
have found that alcohol triggers the brain to release dopamine, a
neurochemical whose levels increase in response to eating, sex or
listening to music.
Some drugs currently available to treat alcoholism are aimed at dopamine.
“They
dampen out the dopamine system a little bit, so you don't get so happy
when you have an alcoholic beverage," added James Cook, chemist at the
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
But these medications,
derived from a class of compounds called opioid antagonists, cause
depression in some patients. These drugs are addictive themselves which
can lead to drug abuse.
Tiruveedhula has made several new beta-carboline compounds that could represent the future of alcoholism treatment.
As such, the beta-carbolines may also be less addictive.
“What excites me is the compounds are orally active and they do not cause depression like some drugs do,†Cook noted.
The
team will present the results at the national meeting and exposition of
the American Chemical Society (ACS) in Boston this week.