A drug that discourages alcohol ingestion has shown promise as a treatment for cocaine addiction. New findings in rats suggest a potential mechanism—the drug decreases amounts of dopamine in the brain (pages 1024–1028). Blocking enzymes that regulate dopamine abundance may be a new way to treat cocaine addiction and prevent relapse in humans.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Fuller, R.K. et al. J. Am. Med. Assoc. 256, 1449–1455 (1986).
Carroll, K.M. et al. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 61, 264–272 (2004).
Arolfo, M.P. et al. Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. 33, 1935–1944 (2009).
Yao, L. et al. Nat. Med. 16, 1024–1028 (2010).
Bourdélat-Parks, B.N. et al. Psychopharmacology (Berl.) 183, 72–80 (2005).
Schroeder, J.P. et al. Neuropsychopharmacology (in the press) 1038/npp.2010.127.
Weinshenker, D. & Schroeder, J.P. Neuropsychopharmacology 32, 1433–1451 (2007).
Gaval-Cruz, M. & Weinshenker, D. Mol. Interv. 9, 175–187 (2009).
Zhang, X.Y. & Kosten, T.A. Biol. Psychiatry 57, 1202–1204 (2005).
Leri, F., Flores, J., Rodaros, D. & Stewart, J. J. Neurosci. 22, 5713–5718 (2002).
Stanley, W.C. et al. Br. J. Pharmacol. 121, 1803–1809 (1997).
Burke, W.J. et al. Neurotoxicology 25, 101–115 (2004).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
D.W. is co-inventor on a patent concerning the use of selective dopamine β-hydroxylase inhibitors for the treatment of cocaine dependence (US-2010-0105748-A1; “Methods and Compositions for Treatment of Drug Addiction”). He has also received research funds from Cephalon Pharmaceuticals for a separate project.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Weinshenker, D. Cocaine sobers up. Nat Med 16, 969–970 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0910-969
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0910-969
This article is cited by
-
Can gene therapy be used to prevent cancer? Gene therapy for aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 deficiency
Cancer Gene Therapy (2022)