Anti-inflammatory Drug May Reduce Heavy Drinking in People With Alcohol Use Disorder

Ibudilast —a drug that suppresses the production of inflammatory molecules in the brain—can significantly reduce heavy drinking in adults with alcohol use disorder (AUD), suggests asmall study inTranslational Psychiatry.“A growing body of literature indicates that the neuroimmune system may play a critical role in the development and maintenance of AUD, termed the neuroimmune hypothesis of alcohol addiction,” wrote Erica Grodin, Ph.D., of the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues. Both the blood samples and postmortem brain samples of people with AUD have shown elevated biomarkers of inflammation. Other studies have found an association between inflammation and depressed mood, which is also common in people with AUD. “Therefore, a neuroimmune modulator may treat AUD and related negative mood symptoms through similar pathways,” the authors wrote.The researchers randomly assigned 52 adults aged 21 to 50 with mild to severe AUD (according to theDSM-5 criteria) to receive 50 mg of ibudilast or placebo twice daily over two weeks. The participants were asked to complete daily diary assessments, indicating their past-day alcohol use, alcohol cravings, and mood throughout the trial. The participants also had three in-person visits that included toxicology, blood pressure, and heart rate screenings. At the end of the first week, they also completed an assessment of their reactions to alcohol cues while receiving an MRI scan. The participants in the study we...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: alcohol alcohol use disorder AUD heavy drinking ibudilast inflammation MRI Translational Psychiatry ventral striatum Source Type: research