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- Aoun, E. G., et al.
(författare)
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A relationship between the aldosterone-mineralocorticoid receptor pathway and alcohol drinking: preliminary translational findings across rats, monkeys and humans
- 2018
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Ingår i: Molecular Psychiatry. - : NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP. - 1359-4184 .- 1476-5578. ; 23:6, s. 1466-1473
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aldosterone regulates electrolyte and fluid homeostasis through binding to the mineralocorticoid receptors (MRs). Previous work provides evidence for a role of aldosterone in alcohol use disorders (AUDs). We tested the hypothesis that high functional activity of the mineralocorticoid endocrine pathway contributes to vulnerability for AUDs. In Study 1, we investigated the relationship between plasma aldosterone levels, ethanol self-administration and the expression of CYP11B2 and MR (NR3C2) genes in the prefrontal cortex area (PFC) and central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) in monkeys. Aldosterone significantly increased after 6- and 12-month ethanol self-administration. NR3C2 expression in the CeA was negatively correlated to average ethanol intake during the 12 months. In Study 2, we measured Nr3c2 mRNA levels in the PFC and CeA of dependent and nondependent rats and the correlates with ethanol drinking during acute withdrawal. Low Nr3c2 expression levels in the CeA were significantly associated with increased anxiety-like behavior and compulsive-like drinking in dependent rats. In Study 3, the relationship between plasma aldosterone levels, alcohol drinking and craving was investigated in alcohol-dependent patients. Non-abstinent patients had significantly higher aldosterone levels than abstinent patients. Aldosterone levels positively correlated with the number of drinks consumed, craving and anxiety scores. These findings support a relationship between ethanol drinking and the aldosterone/MR pathway in three different species.
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| 2. |
- van den Brink, W., et al.
(författare)
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Efficacy and safety of sodium oxybate in alcohol-dependent patients with a very high drinking risk level
- 2018
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Ingår i: Addiction Biology. - : Wiley. - 1355-6215 .- 1369-1600. ; 23:4, s. 969-986
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Medication development for alcohol relapse prevention or reduction of consumption is highly challenging due to methodological issues of pharmacotherapy trials. Existing approved medications are only modestly effective with many patients failing to benefit from these therapies. Therefore, there is a pressing need for other effective treatments with a different mechanism of action, especially for patients with very high (VH) drinking risk levels (DRL) because this is the most severely affected population of alcohol use disorder patients. Life expectancy of alcohol-dependent patients with a VH DRL is reduced by 22 years compared with the general population and approximately 90000 alcohol-dependent subjects with a VH DRL die prematurely each year in the EU (Rehm et al. 2018). A promising new medication for this population is sodium oxybate, a compound that acts on GABA(B) receptors and extrasynaptic GABA(A) receptors resulting in alcohol-mimetic effects. In this article, a European expert group of alcohol researchers and clinicians summarizes data (a) from published trials, (b) from two new-as yet unpublished-large clinical trials (GATE 2 (n = 314) and SMO032 (n = 496), (c) from post hoc subgroup analyses of patients with different WHO-defined DRLs and (d) from multiple meta-analyses. These data provide convergent evidence that sodium oxybate is effective especially in a subgroup of alcohol-dependent patients with VH DRLs. Depending on the study, abstinence rates are increased up to 34 percent compared with placebo with risk ratios up to 6.8 in favor of sodium oxybate treatment. These convergent data are supported by the clinical use of sodium oxybate in Austria and Italy for more than 25years. Sodium oxybate is the sodium salt of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid that is also used as a recreational (street) drug suggestive of abuse potential. However, a pharmacovigilance database of more than 260000 alcohol-dependent patients treated with sodium oxybate reported very few adverse side effects and only few cases of abuse. We therefore conclude that sodium oxybate is an effective, well-tolerated and safe treatment for withdrawal and relapse prevention treatment, especially in alcohol-dependent patients with VH DRL.
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