Drug to combat problem drinking

Health Sciences

University of Adelaide researchers are developing a drug that may help combat alcoholism and other drinking problems.

The drug prevents the typical physical effects of drinking alcohol and may reduce the incentive to drink.

Led by Dr Mark Hutchinson, ARC Research Fellow with the University's School of Medical Sciences, the researchers found that behavioural responses to alcohol stem from an immune response in the brain.

"This immune response lies behind some of the well-known alcohol-related behavioural changes, such as difficulty controlling the muscles involved in walking and talking," said Dr Hutchinson.

The drug being developed could block this immune response and prevent typical drunken behavior like slurring and staggering.

"Alcohol is consumed annually by two billion people world-wide with its abuse posing a significant health and social problem," said Dr Hutchinson. "Over 76 million people are diagnosed with an alcohol abuse disorder.

"This work has significant implications for our understanding of the way alcohol affects us, as it is both an immunological and neuronal response. Such a shift in mindset has significant implications for identifying individuals who may have bad outcomes after consuming alcohol, and it could lead to a way of detecting people who are at greater risk of developing brain damage after long-term drinking."

The research was published recently in the British Journal of Pharmacology by PhD student Yue Wu, supervisor Dr Hutchinson, and others.

Laboratory mice were given a single shot of alcohol. The researchers studied the effect of blocking toll-like receptors, a particular element of the immune system, by using drugs. They also studied the effect of giving alcohol to mice that had been genetically altered so that their immune receptors didn't function.

"The results showed that blocking this part of the immune system, either with the drug or genetically, reduced the effects of alcohol," Dr Hutchinson said. He believes similar treatment could work in humans.

"We expect that medications targeting this specific receptor - toll-like receptor 4 - will prove beneficial in treating alcohol dependence and acute overdoses."

Dr Hutchinson said clinical trials in humans were only 18 months away with the potential for medication to be available through prescription within three years.

Story by Robyn Mills