Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go. ~William Feather
Scientists have discovered a hormone produced by the body during periods of stress that is linked to alcohol dependence in animals. Chemically blocking the hormone, called the corticotrophin releasing factor, or CRF, also shut off the signs and symptoms of addiction. This discovery, at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, could result in the development of a drug treatment for substance abuse.
“Our study explored what we call in the field ‘the dark side’ of alcohol addiction,” said Marisa Roberto, an assistant professor at The Scripps Research Institute. Roberto led the Scripps research study.
“That’s 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,” Roberto said.
The study confirmed the previously implicated role of CRF in alcohol addiction, but also demonstrated in rats that the hormone can be blocked on a long-term basis to alleviate the symptoms of alcohol dependence in humans.
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