Diabetes drug may help to fighting alcohol dependence
Posted on: 28/Sep/2015 9:43:17 AM
A study published in the journal Addiction Biology has said that medication used for diabetes may help with alcoholism.
The Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg performed experiments on lab mice and rats. According to researchers, the hormone called GLP 1 can be key in treating alcohol dependance. It so happens that the medication used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity resembles GLP 1.
When drinking, the brain receives dopamine that leads to a high. The hormone avoids the sense of euphoria, thus abstaining from the reward that alcohol gives. In the rats, the medication caused them to drink lesser alcohol. ‘The GLP-1-like substance reduced the alcohol consumption by 30-40 percent in rats that drank large quantities of alcohol for several months, said a researcher.
