Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) may have discovered a way to eliminate the urge to drink.
"We can completely reverse alcohol dependence by targeting a network of neurons," said study leader Olivier George.
The new research, which was published in The Journal of Neuroscience, broadened previous research which showed that drinking alcohol frequently can activate specific groups of neurons.
The more a person drinks, the more they reinforce activity in the neuronal "circuit," which spurs further alcohol use and addiction. It's as if the brain creates a special path between alcohol and reward.
The researchers explored the possibility that there could be a way to influence only the select neurons that form these circuits. In both humans and rats, the neurons make up about five percent of the neurons in the brain's central amygdala.
The rats were designed to be dependent on alcohol, and expressed a special protein that could distinguish exactly which neurons in the brain were activated by alcohol. The rats were then injected with a compound that could specifically target alcohol-linked neurons and inactivate them.
George said he was surprised to see that the compulsion to drink alcohol was completely eliminated in the rats, a change that lasted as long as the rats were monitored.
"We've never seen an effect that strong that has lasted for several weeks," George said. "I wasn't sure if I believed it."
The researchers went on to run the experiment a second and then a third time. Each time, the rats ceased drinking compulsively.
"It's like they forgot they were dependent," said George.
In addition, the rats suffered no negative physical symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, such as shaking.
The study also shed light on differences in the brain between more casual binge drinking and addictive consumption. In rat models of non-dependent drinking, switching off the alcohol-linked neurons had little effect on future drinking, suggesting the path in the brain from alcohol to reward was not established yet.
The next step will be for the researchers to transfer their discoveries to humans.
More than 3 million Americans are addicted to alcohol, which is an inability to control drinking.
Although there is no cure, alcoholics can be helped by detoxification programs and medications that reduce the compulsion to drink.
Many high-profile celebrities have had bouts with the bottle. The most recent is ABC news personality Elizabeth Vargas, who entered rehab last fall and is returning to work.
Vargas admitted to ABC news that it's still difficult to avoid alcohol, but she has a good support system.
"I'm part of AA," she told ABC news, referring to the group Alcoholics Anonymous. "I have a sponsor. I have great, great friends who I love and who love me."
The more I think of the Rats in the study above, the more I think they traded off one chemical dependency for another ... without any Spiritual awakening or anything ... wonder if they were able to rid themselves of their 'character defects'??? ... ... ...
But then a drunk is just an inebriated asshole, stop'n drink'n doesn't automatically make him sane ... he's still an A-hole unless he changes his way of think'n ... Just an old drunk's opinion ...
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'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
When I was new, I heard from other sober alcoholics that the scientific community comes up with a "cure" for our illness about every 5-7 years. So far that rate is holding true. The first one I remember was in the form of a pill (mid 80's I guess).
I immediately knew it wouldn't "cure" me because my first thought was, "Wait a minute, a pill will fix this? Then I can drink night and day and not have a problem? Excellent!!"
Anything that doesn't fix that hole in my spirit just isn't going to work, and I've never successfully explained that to anyone that doesn't have the same hole.
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"God can move mountains but it helps to bring a shovel!"
I don't think a rat, p***ed or otherwise, has any character defects that need to be dealt with (other than carrying The Black Death !) nor will it have any other rats it needs to make amends to !!
Seriously though, take the alcohol away from me without the 12 Steps and AA & I'm still left with the "ISM". I can't handle life on life's terms, my character defects are glaring & I don't treat people the way they deserve to be treated. I'm a big ball of rage, resentment & self-pity, and yes, that dreadful "hole in the soul" that others have mentioned. I never got into drugs during my drinking years (it's one of those "yets" waiting for me if I go back) but I doubt if just not having a craving for alcohol would stop me from seeking some other destructive substance to get me high/bring me down/anaesthetise painful events. In other words, I'd find something else which I'd get addicted to, to fill the awful "hole in my soul"
No, a pill won't cut the mustard with this alcoholic now I've been tasting what AA has to offer me for some time. Eg ".......you will find release from care, boredom & worry. Your imagination will be fired. Life will mean something at last. The most satisfactory years of your existence lie ahead. Thus we find the fellowship, and so will you" (BB - A Vision For You, p 152)
A well known circut speaker that I respect greatly once said the steps will most likely be passed on in the future but the traditions will stand to be the most unifying force in the history of mankind.
That is his guess anyway. I dig it.
I drank cause I could and because it was there and so I did. Why would I want a pill to diminish my freedoms. I got a lot of other benefits from booze also....so why the pill? If I wanted to stop, I'd stop right no matter how long it took me to stop. Leave my drinking alone...I can handle it.
So in hind sight I would have never "used the pill" Leave that to my lady friends.
