Brain Chemical 'orexin' could kill alcohol desire- Study

A team of researchers from Melbourne's Howard Florey Institute has discovered a system in the brain that can block alcohol abuse, providing hope for those drunkards who intend to stop their craving for alcohol.

Besides blocking alcoholic's desire for consuming alcohol the brain's orexin system, a group of cells in the part of the brain called hypothalamus, prevents relapse once they have recovered from alcohol addiction, the Australian scientists said Monday.

This brain chemical, orexin is believed to be related to the feeling of euphoria that is experienced after drinking alcohol or consuming any addictive drug.

In their studies on rat, the team first created a compound that blocked orexin's ‘euphoric’ effects, and then gave it to rats that had already been turned into alcoholics. After treating the alcoholic rats with the specially made compound, the scientists got the remarkable results.

"In one experiment, rats that had alcohol freely available to them stopped drinking it after receiving the Orexin blocker." Dr Lawrence said.

Dr. Lawrence said alcoholics could also be prevented from relapsing. Rats that had gone through a detox programme and were then given the blocking drug did not take back their addiction again when provided with a new environment “in which they had been conditioned to associate with alcohol use".

Orexin-producing cells, also called hypocretins are a pair of highly excitatory neuropeptide hormones that are found in the brain and play a role in regulating feeding, can also help treating eating disorders, a chronic over-eating which leads to obesity, the scientists said in their research paper, which was recently published in the prestigious British Journal of Pharmacology.

"Orexin reinforces the euphoria felt when drinking alcohol, so if a drug can be developed to block the orexin system in humans, we should be able to stop an alcoholic's craving for alcohol," said lead researcher, Dr Andrew Lawrence.

However, before developing a therapeutic orexin-blocking drug, the scientists say it has to be ensured that the drug will be safe for long-term use.

According to Bob Patton, a health psychologist at the UK's National Addiction Centre, the latest findings are doubtlessly interesting, but more research is needed to determine if it works on the human brain.

Alcohol addiction or Alcoholism, also known as "alcohol dependence" is a chronic and often progressive disease that includes alcohol craving and continued drinking despite repeated alcohol-related problems, such as losing a job or getting into trouble with the law as well as the pain and suffering of the individuals and their families.

In addition to the health issues including heart disease, cancer, prancreatitis and liver disease, traffic accidents are the other factors related to the alcohol abuse.

As per the estimates of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly 13,000 people died in crashes due to the drunk drivers in 2005.