Alcohol and Alcoholism Advance Access published online on May 18, 2009
Alcohol and Alcoholism, doi:10.1093/alcalc/agp026
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Understanding and Treating Alcohol Craving and Dependence: Recent Pharmacological and Neuroendocrinological Findings
1 Institute of Internal Medicine, Catholic University of Rome, Rome, Italy
2 Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
* Corresponding Author: Institute of Internal Medicine, Catholic University of Rome, L.go A. Gemelli 8, I-00168, Rome, Italy. Tel: +39-06-3015-4334; Fax: +39-06-3550-2775; E-mail: lorenzoleggio{at}hotmail.com
Received 12 February 2009; first review notified 20 February 2009; in revised form 24 March 2009; accepted 20 April 2009
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Abstract |
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There is a substantial need for discovering innovative ways to provide more information on the neurobiology of alcohol dependence as well as to discover more effective pharmacotherapies for alcohol dependence. Current research includes exploring new pathways able to modulate alcohol craving. In particular, research shows that several neuroendocrinological pathways may be involved in the neurobiology of alcohol craving and dependence. The first part of this review examines recent clinical findings on the role of feeding-related peptides in alcohol craving and dependence. Second, this review focuses on the need to discover new medications that may prove to be safe and effective in the treatment of alcohol dependence. For example, the GABAB receptor has been suggested as a new possible neuropharmacological target in the treatment of alcohol dependence. Accordingly, the second part of this review examines recent clinical findings on the role of the selective GABAB receptor agonist baclofen in the treatment of alcohol-dependent subjects. These two distinct topics will be both analyzed and discussed. The final part of this review discusses possible connections between these two topics, as an example of possible interactions between psychoneuroendocrinology and neuropharmacology. These possible interactions could lead to future intriguing research aimed at understanding and treating alcohol craving and dependence.