PMID: 22574676May 12, 2012Paper

Novel medication targets for the treatment of alcoholism: preclinical studies

Recent Patents on CNS Drug Discovery
Amir H RezvaniDavid H Overstreet

Abstract

Alcoholism is a complex heterogeneous disease and a number of neurotransmitter and neuromodulator systems have been implicated in its manifestation. Consequently, it is unlikely that existing medications such as disulfiram (Antabuse®), naltrexone (ReVia®), acamprosate (Campral®)) can be efficacious in every individual. Thus, the development of novel therapeutic agents with greater selectivity and less unwanted effects for the treatment of this disease is one of the major objectives of alcohol research. This review summarizes the findings of five novel compounds with different neuronal targets for treating alcoholism. These compounds include sazetidine-A, which selectively desensitizes α4β2 nicotinic receptors; carisbamate, a novel anti-epileptic agent; JNJ5234801, a novel anxiolytic agent; GS-455534, a highly selective inhibitor of mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase; and JNJ-39220675, a selective histamine H3 antagonist. Inbred alcohol-preferring rats (iP), Fawn-Hooded (FH) rats, and P rats were used to evaluate the compounds. Naltrexone was used as a positive control in some experiments. All five compounds reduced alcohol consumption and preference. The mechanisms thought to underlie these effects suggest that, in addition t...Continue Reading

Citations

Jul 31, 2013·Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research·Amir H RezvaniEdward D Levin
Apr 11, 2019·Neuropsychopharmacology : Official Publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology·Shawn M FlynnPaul W Czoty
Jul 30, 2021·Progress in Neuro-psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry·Chiara MontemitroOsama A Abulseoud

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