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Updated: Sep 6, 2025

Murine Drinking Models in the Development of Pharmacotherapies for Alcoholism: Drinking in the Dark and Two-bottle Choice
Published on: January 7, 2019
The Mineralocorticoid Receptor: An Emerging Pharmacotherapeutic Target for Alcohol Use Disorder?
András H Lékó1, M Adrienne McGinn2, Mehdi Farokhnia1
1Clinical Psychoneuroendocrinology and Neuropsychopharmacology Section, Translational Addiction Medicine Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Division of Intramural Clinical and Biological Research, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, United States.
Abstract:
Despite the high prevalence and negative consequences associated with alcohol use disorder (AUD), currently available pharmacotherapies are limited in number and efficacy. Several neuroendocrine pathways have been identified and are under investigation as potential pharmacotherapeutic targets for AUD. Here, we present the promise of the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) as a novel target and discuss associations between the aldosterone/MR system and AUD, the effects of MR antagonism on alcohol consumption, and the underlying neurobiology of these effects.
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