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Anti-Smoking Pill May Work on Booze, Too

Drug that targets brain's pleasure center shows promise in tests

By M. Morris,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 10, 2007 5:56 PM CDT

(Newser) – A pill that helps smokers quit also shows promise in combating alcoholism, and future uses may include treatment for other addictions and even Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Varenicline acts on brain receptors that bind with nicotine, blunting its effects by inhibiting the release of dopamine, a so-called pleasure hormone. Alcohol affects the same receptors.

Lab rats trained to drink heavily, then dosed with varenicline, drank less; after researchers stopped giving them the drug, they continued to drink but didn't binge. A researcher not connected with the study told the AP using the drug to treat alcoholism is a "no-brainer"; the fact that it's already FDA approved makes human testing easier.

Cigarette butts join other trash and seagrass that are washed up on the shore on the beach Wednesday, June 6, 2007 on Virginia Key in Miami. Smokers are littering shorelines and waterways worldwide with nearly 2 million cigarettes and their filters topping the list of trash items culled during last...
Cigarette butts join other trash and seagrass that are washed up on the shore on the beach Wednesday, June 6, 2007 on Virginia Key in Miami. Smokers are littering shorelines and waterways worldwide with...   (Associated Press)
The Food and Drug Administration should regulate tobacco and develop a plan to reduce nicotine levels in cigarettes, the Institute of Medicine urged Thursday. (AP Graphic)
The Food and Drug Administration should regulate tobacco and develop a plan to reduce nicotine levels in cigarettes, the Institute of Medicine urged Thursday. (AP Graphic)   (Associated Press)
A Marlboro cigarette burns as it sits on a pack of Marlboro cigarettes  in this Jan. 31, 2007 file photo in Trenton, N.J. Altria Group Inc., the food and tobacco conglomerate is expected to release quarterly earnings on Thursday, April 19, 2007. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, file)
A Marlboro cigarette burns as it sits on a pack of Marlboro cigarettes in this Jan. 31, 2007 file photo in Trenton, N.J. Altria Group Inc., the food and tobacco conglomerate is expected to release quarterly...   (Associated Press)
Alex Beeton, of London, chooses a bottle of wine at the lone state run liquor store Tuesday, April 24, 2007, in St. George, Utah. There's a supply problem facing those who imbibe in this city of 126,000, where spectacular red rock scenery, sunny weather and affordable proximity to Las...
Alex Beeton, of London, chooses a bottle of wine at the lone state run liquor store Tuesday, April 24, 2007, in St. George, Utah. There's a supply problem facing those who imbibe in this city of 126,000,...   (Associated Press)
Patrons wait in line to pay for their purchases at the lone state run liquor store Tuesday, April 24, 2007, in St. George, Utah. There's a supply problem facing those who imbibe in this city of 126,000, where spectacular red rock scenery, sunny weather and affordable proximity to Las...
Patrons wait in line to pay for their purchases at the lone state run liquor store Tuesday, April 24, 2007, in St. George, Utah. There's a supply problem facing those who imbibe in this city of 126,000,...   (Associated Press)
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More on the biology of addiction
Ars Technica

Some 85% of alchoholics also smoke
Royal Society of Chemistry

The journal

PNAS homepage
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

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