Believe it or not, monkey brains may have been vital in finding a new treatment for alcoholism and other forms of addiction. So say researchers from Oregon Health & Science University, who may have developed a new treatment for the problem using a form of gene therapy currently used to treat Parkinson’s disease.
Alcoholism is a chronic disease characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse social, occupational, or health consequences. It is a medical condition that can be diagnosed and treated.
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The term “alcoholism” is not used as much in the medical community anymore, but it is still commonly used by the general public. The preferred term is “alcohol use disorder” (AUD). AUD can be mild, moderate, or severe.
The scientists said that their study in nonhuman primates showed that implanting a specific type of molecule that induces cell growth effectively resets the brain’s dopamine reward pathway in animals predisposed to heavy drinking. The gene therapy procedure involves brain surgery and may be useful in the most severe cases of alcohol use disorder.
This is significant because of the reason why so many alcoholics and drug addicts return to substance abuse after going through detox and rehab: their brains are wired differently than other people so they get a different type of reaction from intoxicating substances.
Also, many drugs, in effect, “rewire” the brain of an addict from their constant use. So, with drugs like OxyContin” and crystal methamphetamine, it could take years for an addict’s brain to reset itself.
The implanted virus – the procedure uses a virus to deliver the gene – is not harmful, said the scientists, and carries a gene that codes for the protein known as glial-derived neurotrophic factor, or GDNF. It was injected in a specific area of the brain of a group of rhesus macaque monkeys that voluntarily and heavily drink ethanol diluted in water. After four macaques underwent the procedure, researchers found their consumption dropped by more than 90% compared with a control group.
“We know that we can get people with alcohol use disorder to stop drinking for short periods of time,” says Kathleen Grant, a neuroscientist at Oregon Health & Science University. “But the desire to drink again often supersedes taking their medications.”
But in the new research, Dr. Grant said “Drinking went down to almost zero.”
“For months on end, these animals would choose to drink water and just avoid drinking alcohol altogether,” she explained. “They decreased their drinking to the point that it was so low we didn’t record a blood-alcohol level.”
