March 29, 2024

New NIH Study Suggests That a Heart Medication Reduces Alcohol Consumption

Spironolactone dosage increases decreased alcohol intake without triggering movement or coordination problems or influencing food or water intake.
The medication might possibly deal with alcohol usage condition.
A recent research study by National Institutes of Health scientists and their associates recommends that a medication used to deal with heart issues and hypertension may likewise be helpful in dealing with alcohol use disorder. The research study provides convergent proof from mice and rat trials, along with a human friend research study, showing that the medication, spironolactone, may have a function in reducing alcohol usage.
Researchers from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), both part of the NIH, and Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, led the research study. Their findings were just recently released in the journal Molecular Psychiatry..
” Combining findings across three species and various types of research study studies, and then seeing resemblances in those data offers us confidence that we are onto something potentially essential scientifically and medically. These findings support further research study of spironolactone as a possible treatment for alcohol use disorder, a medical condition that impacts countless people in the U.S” said Lorenzo Leggio, M.D., Ph.D., chief of the Clinical Psychoneuroendocrinology and Neuropsychopharmacology Section, a joint laboratory of NIDA and NIAAA, and among the senior authors.

There are presently 3 medicines that have actually been approved for the treatment of alcohol use disorder in the United States, and they are both important and reliable aid to the treatment of those who experience this condition. Offered the variety of biological procedures involved in alcohol use condition, brand-new drugs are required to provide a higher variety of treatment choices. Researchers are attempting to develop a wider range of pharmaceutical treatments that may be tailored to specific requirement.
Previous research study has actually revealed that mineralocorticoid receptors, which lie throughout the brain and other organs and assist control fluid and electrolyte balance in the body, may contribute in alcohol use and craving. Preclinical research study recommends that higher mineralocorticoid receptor signaling adds to increased alcohol intake. The present research study looked for to expand this line of research by screening spironolactone, a medication with multiple actions, consisting of obstructing mineralocorticoid receptors. Spironolactone is used in medical practice as a diuretic and to deal with conditions like heart problems and hypertension.
In experiments carried out in mouse and rat models of extreme alcohol drinking, NIAAA and NIDA researchers led by co-senior author Leandro Vendruscolo, Pharm.D., Ph.D., from NIDA found that increasing doses of spironolactone decreased alcohol usage in male and female animals, without triggering motion or coordination problems, and without impacting their food or water intake.
In a parallel study that was part of this groups collaborative efforts, researchers led by co-senior author Amy C. Justice, M.D., Ph.D., of the Yale School of Medicine, took a look at health records of a large sample of people from the U.S. Veterans Affairs health care system to evaluate possible modifications in alcohol drinking after spironolactone was prescribed for its existing clinical indications (e.g., heart problems, hypertension). They discovered a substantial association in between spironolactone treatment and reduction in self-reported alcohol intake, as measured by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption, a screening tool. Of note, the largest effects were observed among those who reported hazardous/heavy episodic alcohol consumption before beginning spironolactone treatment.
” These are extremely encouraging findings,” said NIAAA Director George F. Koob, Ph.D., a co-author of the study. “Taken together, today research study argues for conducting randomized, controlled research studies of spironolactone in people with alcohol use disorder to further assess its safety and potential effectiveness in this population, along with extra work to understand how spironolactone may decrease alcohol drinking.”.
” Just like for any other medical condition, people with substance usage conditions deserve to have a series of treatment options readily available to them, and this study is an exciting action in our effort to broaden medications for people with alcohol use disorder,” said Nora Volkow, M.D., director of NIDA. “In addition, we should attend to the stigma and other barriers that prevent lots of people with alcohol usage condition from accessing the treatments we already have readily available.”.
Reference: “Spironolactone as a potential brand-new pharmacotherapy for alcohol use condition: convergent proof from rodent and human research studies” by Mehdi Farokhnia, Christopher T. Rentsch, Vicky Chuong, M. Adrienne McGinn, Sophie K. Elvig, Eliza A. Douglass, Luis A. Gonzalez, Jenna E. Sanfilippo, Renata C. N. Marchette, Brendan J. Tunstall, David A. Fiellin, George F. Koob, Amy C. Justice, Lorenzo Leggio and Leandro F. Vendruscolo, 20 September 2022, Molecular Psychiatry.DOI: 10.1038/ s41380-022-01736-y.
The study was moneyed by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Provided the range of biological procedures included in alcohol usage disorder, new drugs are needed to give a greater variety of treatment alternatives. In a parallel research study that was part of this groups collaborative efforts, researchers led by co-senior author Amy C. Justice, M.D., Ph.D., of the Yale School of Medicine, took a look at health records of a big sample of individuals from the U.S. Veterans Affairs health care system to assess prospective modifications in alcohol drinking after spironolactone was prescribed for its existing medical indicators (e.g., heart issues, high blood pressure). They found a substantial association between spironolactone treatment and decrease in self-reported alcohol usage, as determined by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption, a screening tool. Of note, the largest effects were observed among those who reported hazardous/heavy episodic alcohol usage before beginning spironolactone treatment.