Neuroendocrine response to GABA-B receptor agonism in alcohol-dependent individuals: Results from a combined outpatient and human laboratory experiment.

Neuroendocrine response to GABA-B receptor agonism in alcohol-dependent individuals: Results from a combined outpatient and human laboratory experiment. Neuropharmacology. 2018 Apr 14;: Authors: Farokhnia M, Sheskier MB, Lee MR, Le AN, Singley E, Bouhlal S, Ton T, Zhao Z, Leggio L Abstract Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the nervous system, plays an important role in biobehavioral processes that regulate alcohol seeking, food intake, and stress response. The metabotropic GABA-B receptor has been investigated as a potential therapeutic target for alcohol use disorder, by using orthosteric agonists (e.g., baclofen) and positive allosteric modulators. Whether and how pharmacological manipulation of the GABA-B receptor, in combination with alcohol intake, may affect feeding- and stress-related neuroendocrine pathways remains unknown. In the present randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, thirty-four alcohol-dependent individuals received baclofen (30 mg/day) or placebo in a naturalistic outpatient setting for one week, and then performed a controlled laboratory experiment which included alcohol cue-reactivity, fixed-dose priming, and self-administration procedures. Blood samples were collected, and the following neuroendocrine markers were measured: ghrelin, leptin, amylin, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), insulin, prolactin, thyroid-stimulating hormone, growth hormone, cortisol, and ...
Source: Neuropharmacology - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Tags: Neuropharmacology Source Type: research