Currently, there are only two “regular” drugs for the treatment of AUD (alcohol use disorder) – disulfiram and naltrexone. The research team decided to investigate the suitability of other currently available drugs for use as a new treatment option for alcoholism.
Thus, scientists have established a link between the phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4) enzyme, specifically the PDE4b subtype, and alcohol and nicotine addiction. Inhibition of the degradation of cAMP, an intracellular molecule that plays an important role in the inflammatory process, by PDE4 has been shown to have therapeutic value. One such PDE4 inhibitor, apremilast, an anti-inflammatory drug used to treat psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, was unlike any other.
In experiments in mice, the researchers found that apremilast affected the region of the brain that processes incoming reward and reward stimuli associated with drugs, sex, and addictive exercise. They found that the drug reduced excessive alcohol consumption in rats in a variety of conditions, including binge drinking, compulsive drinking, and stress and non-stress-induced drinking.
The scientists reported that, on average, alcohol consumption fell from five drinks a day to two during human studies.
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Source: Ferra
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