Ground-breaking’ drug could treat alcohol addiction
Source: The Spirits Business
by Annie Hayes
15th April, 2016
A drug currently used to treat angina and high blood pressure has been proven to reduce binge drinking in an “internationally significant” breakthrough.
Established beta blocker pindolol was proven to reduce alcohol consumption, particularly in relation to binge drinking, according to a study from Queensland University of Technology.
The drug – which already has approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – was found to diminish ethanol intake in animals, and is set to undergo human clinical trials.
Neuroscientist Professor Selena Bartlett, from QUT’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, told Medical Xpress: “Drugs currently used for AUDs – acamprosate, naltrexone and disulfiram – have limited success, so this is a ground-breaking development with enormous potential.
“In an internationally-significant breakthrough, our study showed pindolol was able to reduce ethanol/alcohol consumption, particularly in relation to binge drinking, a key behaviour observed in human alcohol dependence.”
The study was published in Addiction Biology, the Journal of the Society for the Study of Addiction.
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Wine-drinking mothers getting implants to quit
Source: The Independent
17/04/2016
Dr Hugh Gallagher, a GP co-ordinator in the HSE addiction service, told the Sunday Independent that an implant, containing a drug called Naltrexone, is the new go-to treatment for women in their 30s, 40s and 50s who have developed a dependency on alcohol. Warning against the wine-drinking culture of ‘ladies who lunch’ and middle-class women who have become accustomed to a bottle of wine in the evenings to shake off the strain of the day, Dr Gallagher said the increase in wine consumption is partly caused by newly defined gender roles, which are placing more pressure and expectations on women.
On changing social habits, he also said catch-ups with female friends traditionally had over tea now largely centre around wine.