Key points:
- FDA-approved medication for psoriasis has shown promise as treatment for alcohol use disorder.
- The medication was tested on both mice and humans with positive results, reducing alcohol intake by half for humans.
- More clinical trials are needed, especially with people seeking treatment.
Researchers from Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and colleagues have shown a medication used to treat psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis is an “incredibly promising” treatment for alcohol use disorder. The medication, called apremilast, reduced alcohol intake by more then half per day, on average.
Starting in 2015, researchers began searching a genetic database looking for compounds likely to counteract the expression of genes known to be linked to heavy alcohol use. FDA-approved apremilast appeared to be a promising candidate.
They then tested it in two unique animal models that have a genetic of risk for excessive drinking, as well as in other strains of mice. In each case, apremilast reduced drinking among a variety of models predisposed to mild to heavy alcohol use. They found that apremilast triggered an increase in activity in the nucleus accumbens, the region of the brain involved in controlling alcohol intake.
Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in California then tested apremilast in people. The double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical proof-of-concept study involved 51 people who were assessed over 11 days of treatment.
On average, the medication reduced participants’ alcohol intake by more than half—from five drinks per day to two.
Encouragingly, the clinical study involved people with alcohol use disorder who weren’t seeking any form of treatment. Researchers predict apremilast may be even more effective among those who are motivated to reduce their alcohol consumption.
“It’s imperative for more clinical trials to be done on people seeking treatment,” said co-senior author Angela Ozburn, associate professor of behavioral neuroscience in the OHSU School of Medicine. “In this study, we saw that apremilast worked in mice. It worked in different labs, and it worked in people. This is incredibly promising for treatment of addiction in general.”
An estimated 95,000 people in the United States die every year from alcohol-related deaths. Currently, there are three medications approved for alcohol use disorder in the U.S.: antabuse, which produces an acute sensitivity akin to a hangover when alcohol is consumed; acamprosate, a medication thought to stabilize chemical signaling in the brain that is associated with relapse; and naltrexone, a medication that blocks the euphoric effects of both alcohol and opioids.
Information provided by OHSU.