Imagine quickly reducing the effects of drunkenness or alcohol poisoning with a single jab: that's the premise of new research in mice, using the hormone fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) as the treatment.
, a neurotransmitter linked to the fight-or-flight response and regulations alertness and sleep arousal.pharmacologist David Mangelsdorf from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
"We are now exploring in greater depth the neuronal pathways by which FGF21 exerts its sobering effect.", diazepam, or pentobarbital in the study. This suggests that it's specifically countering ethanol. While mice don't have bars to visit, they can snack on sugary foods containing ethanol. It's possible that FGF21 has evolved to help them and other animals curtail the desire to consume too much alcohol at once, protecting them against alcohol-induced liver damage.
These effects still need to be demonstrated in humans as well, of course, though the researchers are confident that the same processes will occur and that it could be used as a method of starting some of the sobering up process. "These results suggest that this FGF21 liver-brain pathway evolved to protect against ethanol-induced intoxication and that it might be targeted pharmaceutically for treating acute alcohol poisoning,"
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