Researchers from The Ohio State University (USA) tested the effectiveness of the gene therapy that they developed and suppressed the development of severe forms of alcoholism. The results of the work of scientists have been published. magazine Nature Medicine (part of the Nature group).
The authors used the AAV2 virus, which can enter brain cells and cause them to produce large amounts of glial neurotrophic factor (GDNF). This, in turn, helps combat changes in dopamine receptors in the brain’s reward system during chronic alcohol use.
Due to a malfunctioning reward system, an alcoholic cannot stop drinking again, so scientists are targeting dopamine receptors.
In the experiment, the scientists used two groups of rhesus monkeys suffering from alcoholism. The first was injected with virus, the second with saline. The scientists then monitored the monkeys’ behavior in the absence of access to alcohol.
The results showed that the developed treatment greatly reduced the craving for alcohol in the first weeks after it entered the macaque’s nervous system. The authors plan to begin human trials in the near future.
ancient scientists refuted the ability of alcoholics to “strengthen” the effect of drunkenness.