Medications development for food-based and drug use disorders
Fernando B de Moura1, Stephen J Kohut1, Jack Bergman1
1Behavioral Biology Program, McLean Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
Advances in Pharmacology (San Diego, Calif.)
|August 6, 2019
Summary
Few medications exist for substance abuse disorder due to unclear neurobiological targets. This review explores pharmacological strategies targeting overlapping pathways in eating and addictive disorders, like the gut-brain axis and neurotransmitter systems.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pharmacology
- Addiction Medicine
Background:
- Limited FDA-approved medications for substance abuse disorder highlight challenges in identifying core pathological neurobiological targets.
- Shared neural pathways underlying reward processing in drug addiction and eating disorders suggest potential for cross-application of therapeutic strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present pharmacological strategies for novel medication development for drug addiction.
- To examine potential overlapping neurobiological targets shared between eating disorders and substance abuse.
Main Methods:
- Review of pharmacological strategies for novel medication development in addiction.
- Analysis of neurobiological targets common to eating disorders (obesity, overeating, binge-eating) and substance abuse.
- Discussion of mechanisms including gut-brain axis modulators and neurotransmitter systems.
Main Results:
- Identified overlapping neurobiological targets between eating and addictive disorders.
- Highlighted the potential of targeting the gut-brain axis (leptin, ghrelin, CCK, etc.) and neurotransmitter systems (opioids, cannabinoids, dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine) for addiction treatment.
Conclusions:
- Pharmacological strategies targeting shared neurobiological pathways offer a promising avenue for developing novel medications for substance abuse disorder.
- Further research into gut-brain axis and neurotransmitter system modulators could lead to effective treatments for addiction.
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