New research offers rare hope for treating Alcohol Use Disorder and the results were dramatic – ‘drinking went down to almost zero’
A gene therapy, presently employed in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, could profoundly minimize alcohol consumption in chronic heavy drinkers, as discovered by scientists at Oregon Health & Science University along with other nationwide institutions.
Researchers conducted an investigation on nonhuman primates, revealing that when a particular molecule, which stimulates cell growth, was implanted, it essentially reprogrammed the animals’ brain’s dopamine reward pathway.
This showed promising results in those primates prone to excessive drinking. This form of gene therapy, which requires a brain operation, might be useful for severe cases of alcohol addiction.
Kathleen Grant, Ph.D., co-senior author, professor, and head of the Division of Neuroscience at OHSU’s Oregon Primate National Research Center (ONPRC), remarked: “This was incredibly effective.”
The study’s details were unveiled in the scientific journal, Nature Medicine.
The harmless implanted virus harbors a gene that encodes for a protein named glial-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF). This was administered to a group of rhesus macaque monkeys that consumed ethanol diluted in water voluntarily and heavily. After the procedure on four macaques, a substantial decline in consumption by over 90% was observed compared to a control group.
Grant commented that the “drinking went down to almost zero,” and the animals preferred water over alcohol for months, reducing their intake to undetectable blood-alcohol levels.
GDNF, identified as a growth factor that prompts cells to multiply rapidly, boosts neurons in the brain that produce dopamine, the chemical that elicits pleasure. Chronic alcohol consumption is known to decrease dopamine release.
Grant elaborated that though acute alcohol consumption might boost dopamine, chronic use adapts the brain, leading to decreased release, which translates to a need to sustain intoxication rather than deriving pleasure from drinking.
By administering GDNF to the dopamine-rich region, the team elevated dopamine levels.
Specialists at the ONPRC used magnetic resonance imaging to guide the GDNF insertion, applying an adeno-associated virus in the brain’s ventral tegmental area. This virus, which doesn’t induce disease, is already employed in treating Parkinson’s disease and a rare genetic disorder in children known as aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase deficiency, which, among other symptoms, causes movement issues.
The outcomes were indeed striking.
Grant added: “The monkeys that were treated with this gene permanently started overexpressing dopamine and they decreased their drinking substantially.”
Alcohol use disorder and alcohol-related deaths persist as substantial global issues, leading to approximately 140,000 deaths in the United States and an estimated 2.4 million worldwide annually.
This study introduces a therapy that requires a brain operation, making it suitable for those grappling with extreme alcohol addiction.
Dr. Grant noted, “It would be most appropriate for people who have already shown that all our normal therapeutic approaches do not work for them. They are likely to create severe harm or kill themselves or others due to their drinking.”
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