Using an anesthetic drug that also has antidepressant properties, and another drug that raises levels of a mood-enhancing natural chemical in the brain, the researchers found that they could alleviate depressive-like symptoms in a mouse model of alcoholism.<\/p>\n The findings, published online this month in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology<\/em>, could set the stage for development of novel treatments for mood and anxiety disorders that are induced by withdrawal from alcohol.<\/p>\n Depression is highly associated with alcohol abuse disorders<\/strong>. Yet before these findings can be applied to humans, “much work remains to be done,” said senior author Danny Winder, Ph.D., professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics and of Psychiatry.<\/p>\n Clinical studies in which both conditions have been treated at the same time are “woefully lacking,”<\/strong> he and his colleagues wrote. In addition, commonly used antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) are not very effective in this population.<\/p>\n The Vanderbilt researchers validated a previously established mouse model in which the animals exhibit depression-like behavior following withdrawal of alcohol.<\/p>\n They then tested ketamine, an anesthetic drug that blocks the NMDA receptor in the brain and which has been shown to have rapid and long-lasting antidepressant effects in humans. When the mice were given ketamine, the depressive symptoms were reversed<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The researchers also tested the effect of raising brain levels of an endocannabinoid called 2-AG by blocking the enzyme monoacylglycerol (MAG) lipase<\/strong>. Endocannabinoids are naturally produced chemical messengers that have been implicated in depression and anxiety-like behavior.<\/p>\n A previous Vanderbilt study found that raising 2-AG levels with an MAG lipase inhibitor reduced stress-induced anxiety-like behaviors in mice. In the current study, treatment with a MAG lipase inhibitor had a similar effect to ketamine in reversing depressive symptoms after alcohol withdrawal.<\/p>\n “We are excited to pursue the role of the endocannabinoid system further,” Winder said. But clinical use of ligands (compounds) that bind endogenous cannabinoid receptors is still in its infancy<\/strong>, he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From the Vanderbilt University Medical Center media release: A study by researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center is offering a glimmer of hope to alcoholics who find it hard to… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[350,345,10,339],"tags":[123],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18759"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18759"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18759\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18767,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18759\/revisions\/18767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"alcohol](\"http:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/alcohol-bottles.jpg\")
<\/a>A study by researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center is offering a glimmer of hope to alcoholics who find it hard to remain sober because their abstinence is hounded by stubborn, difficult-to-treat depression<\/strong>.<\/p>\n