Gene Therapy for Alcohol Use Disorder Gene therapy might offer a one-time, sustained treatment for patients with serious alcohol addiction, also called alcohol use disorder, according to a new study led by a researcher at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine. T
Researchers have conducted a study using gene therapy as a potential treatment for alcohol use disorder , revealing that sustained release of hGDNF in the brain might prevent relapse into excessive drinking. The study suggests this approach as a promising therapy for AUD, with key findings demonstrating a significant reduction in alcohol intake in treated subjects.
People with alcohol use disorder commonly experience repeated cycles of abstinence followed by relapse, even when using one of the few FDA-approved drug therapies, Bankiewicz notes.Excessive alcohol use alters certain nerve tracts in the brain that involve the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine. These neurons make up the mesolimbic reward pathway, which plays a major role in alcohol and drug addiction.
Scientists think this “hypodopaminergic” state can compel excessive alcohol users to resume drinking after periods of abstinence. All eight animals were first habituated to the consumption of 4% alcohol. Then four animals were infused with the hGDNF vector directly into the VTA, located in the floor of the midbrain. Neurons in the VTA connect with the mesolimbic reward pathway. The remaining four animals served as controls. They were infused with sterile saline using the same surgical procedure.
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