New Drug May Help Treat Alcohol Addiction

A new medicine that targets parts of the brain’s stress system may help in curing people with alcohol use disorder (AUD). Researchers conducted a clinical trial of a new compound, called ABT-436, designed to block the effects of vasopressin, a neuropeptide produced in the brain’s hypothalamus. Vasopressin helps to regulate the pituitary adrenal axis and other brain circuits involved in emotion. As such, it plays a role in regulation stress, anxiety and their interaction with AUD. Researchers recruited 144 alcohol dependent adult men and women for the 12 week study. During a 28 day baseline period, female participants consumed at least 28 drinks per week, while male participants consumed at least 35 drinks per week. Participants were then randomized to receive either placebo tablets or ones containing ABT-436 compound. Researchers found that participants who received ABT-436 abstained from alcohol for more days than those who were given the placebo. Participants who reported high levels of stress appeared to respond better to ABT-436 abstained from alcohol for more days than those who were given the placebo. Participants who reported high levels of stress appeared to respond better to ABT-436. Smokers also benefitted from ABT-436. Experts suspect that ABT-436 targeted the same areas in the brain that related to withdrawal and stress, and, in the process, influenced both tobacco and alcohol use disorders.