Gene therapy instead of booze?

Genetics for sobriety: cravings at the level of genes
Popular Mechanics by University of Maryland Medical Center press release:
Discovery Could Lead to New Therapies for Alcoholism

According to medical estimates, in the United States, the proportion of "excessive" drinkers reaches 30% of the population; what can we say about Russia. But, as elsewhere in the world, treatment for this habit requires complex, long-term and not always successful. In America, in parallel with other procedures and remedies, Revia and Campral drugs are actively used to reduce cravings for booze. They have to be supplemented with sedatives, such as diazepam (Valium), which in themselves can be addictive.

Against this painful background, the work carried out by the team of Professor Harry June looks just like jewelry. Instead of powerful pressure on the psyche and "bombarding" the body with a bunch of drugs, you can selectively, pointwise block the work of a couple of receptors – and get rid of any craving for booze, reduce anxiety associated with the lack of habitual alcoholic "support", without any possibility of addiction development.

According to Harry June, the propensity to drink is a very dangerous habit: "It is massively widespread among college students, and among mature people. It does not "reach" full–fledged alcoholism ... but it carries with it the same mass of serious health risks as more severe forms of addiction to alcohol - cancer, heart disease and, of course, increased danger in society, including when driving a car."

In the work of Jun and colleagues, the effects of alcohol on two types of receptors – GABA and TLR4 receptors - were studied.

The former, acting in the neurons of the brain, show affinity for gamma-aminobutyric acid, the main inhibitory neurotransmitter. It is with them that the well–known "soothing" (and after a certain dose - and soporific) effect of alcohol is largely connected. The second object of research looks more unexpected: it is known that TLR4 receptors are involved in innate immunity, recognizing and binding certain structures of bacterial cell walls. In the brain, TLR4 are activated with the development of inflammatory processes and are associated with microglial cells, special immune agents of the central nervous system. The connection between alcohol, GABA and TLR4 receptors has been revealed quite clearly.

GABA receptors are a group of cellular receptors of gamma-aminobutyric acid, the main inhibitory mediator in the nervous system of vertebrates.
TLR4 (toll-like receptor 4) is a membrane protein, belongs to the group of toll-like receptors involved in innate immunity. TLR4 binds the lipopolysaccharide of the bacterial cell wall. The signal transmitted to the cell through this receptor is one of the oldest in the system of antibacterial protection of the body.

Scientists conducted experiments on laboratory rats that were addicted to drinking. Using the herpes virus as a genetic vector – a tool for the precise delivery of a gene-modifying agent – the authors selectively stimulated GABA and TLR4 receptors, thereby achieving the same effect as the effect of alcohol on "alcoholized" rats, but without alcohol itself. The effect was very noticeable: for two weeks after the procedure, the animals did not show any craving for alcohol.

Note that, in fact, this approach offers an effective substitute for alcohol – a means to achieve the same mild euphoria – and thus, in many ways, does not get rid of the craving for an easily achievable altered state. However, methadone therapy works similarly, which is used in developed countries to treat heroin addiction – and is used with fairly high efficiency. Maybe we – the whole country – should take a closer look at the prospects of gene therapy?..

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru10.03.2011