Role for Neurontin in alcohol dependence?
An animal study published in the May 28 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience shows that world drug giant Pfizer's Neurontin (gabapentin), an off-patent drug for chronic pain and epilepsy, reduces alcohol intake in alcohol-dependent rats by normalizing chemical communication between neurons altered by chronic alcohol abuse.
Neurontin reduced alcohol intake in alcohol-dependent rats whether it was given systemically or directly into the central amygdala, supporting the importance of this area. Both gabapentin and alcohol increase GABA neurotransmission in the central amygdala of non-dependent rats but, in dependent rats, gabapentin reduced it, suggesting that altered GABA neurotransmission is key to alcohol dependence.
Robert Messing, of the USA's Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center in San Francisco, said that, "because gabapentin is well tolerated, this paper provides a strong rationale for large clinical trials testing whether gabapentin is an effective treatment for alcoholism in both detoxified and actively drinking alcoholics."
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