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A new discovery: Roots of heavy drinking – peptide influence
11.01.2024 18:30
Updated: 13.05.2024 21:21
Drinking alcohol for a long time can change the brain and cause stress-related effects that make people keep drinking.
A team of specialists have found new aspects that affect that bad habit and its influence.
Let's find out how heavy drinking is tied to specific peptides.
Alcohol is dangerous
Alcohol is a very addictive substance that is widely used around the world.
In the U.S., excessive alcohol use costs a lot of money and causes many deaths and health problems.
Alcohol use disorder is a common and chronic condition that affects millions of people but is not treated enough.
A part of the brain called the "bed nucleus of the stria terminalis" plays a role in both stress and alcohol use disorder.
How it was discovered
Scientists found that a substance called pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide is involved in heavy drinking.
They saw that during withdrawal, levels of PACAP increased in the BNST, along with another related substance called calcitonin gene-related peptide.
Both of these substances are linked to stress and pain, but their role in alcohol addiction is not well understood.
The specialists used a virus in an experimental model to block the pathways carrying PACAP to the BNST.
By doing this, they reduced heavy drinking in the model.
The scientists believe that PACAP is a significant factor in alcohol addiction and can be targeted for some new treatments.
Previously, we talked about seasonal affective disorder.
