According to HealthDay (1/28, Dotinga, http://tinyurl.com/crf-EtOH), researchers are reporting that blocking a stress hormone could become a strategy to help treat alcoholism. Lead researcher Marisa Roberto, an associate professor at the Scripps Research Institute, said in a Scripps news release: “Our study explored the compulsion to drink, not because it is pleasurable — which has been the focus of much previous research — but because it relieves the anxiety generated by abstinence and the stressful effects of withdrawal. “The hormone, known as corticotropin-releasing factor, plays a role in the body’s response to stress and is found in the brain. Romero said it’s possible that blocking the hormone “may prevent excessive alcohol consumption under a variety of behavioral and physiological conditions.” The researchers also found that rats exposed to the hormone-suppressing chemical didn’t become immune to the chemical’s effects over time. That suggests that people might be able to take it repeatedly without facing a loss of effectiveness.
Posts Tagged ‘corticotropin-releasing factor and alcohol’
Blocking Stress Hormone Could Be Key to Treating Alcoholism.
Posted in Alcohol and Drugs, tagged alcohol consumption, alcohol treatment, Blocking Stress Hormone Could Be Key to Treating Alcoholism., corticotropin-releasing factor, corticotropin-releasing factor and alcohol, Marisa Roberto, Scripps Research Institute on February 2, 2010| Leave a Comment »