Help for quitting smoking
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University, working under the guidance of Dr. Kim Sangwon (Sangwon Kim), together with colleagues from the University of Pennsylvania, demonstrated the ability of the antidiabetic drug metformin to block the symptoms of nicotine addiction in rodents.
Tobacco smoking is the leading cause of preventable diseases and death in the United States. To date, 3 drugs have been officially approved in the USA to help people cope with nicotine addiction: a nicotine substitute, an antidepressant and a drug that suppresses the desire to experience the pleasant effects of smoking. At the same time, none of the means used directly eliminates the symptoms of addiction. According to statistics, despite the fact that up to 70% of people undergoing therapy want to get rid of a bad habit, only about 15% succeed.
Based on the results of earlier studies devoted to the study of the mechanisms by which nicotine changes the chemical reactions occurring in the brain, the authors suggested that widely used and inexpensive metformin can suppress anxiety, irritability and other symptoms of "withdrawal" when quitting smoking.
As part of their research, they studied the mechanisms of activation of an enzyme known as AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which, among other functions, stimulates the destruction of glucose with the release of energy. Dr. Kim and his colleagues have found that chronic nicotine use in mammals activates an AMPK-mediated signaling mechanism. The rejection of nicotine has an overwhelming effect on him.
In addition to suppressing glucose production, the effects of metformin include the ability to activate AMPK. Therefore, the authors suggested that with the right dose, metformin will help to cope with the symptoms of addiction without side effects and glucose metabolism disorders.
In experiments on mice treated with nicotine for two weeks, metformin demonstrated the ability to completely rid animals of anxiety and other unpleasant manifestations of addiction. At the same time, the dosages used had no effect on body weight, the amount of food consumed and the concentration of glucose in the blood.
The authors believe that if clinical studies confirm the data obtained in mice, metformin, which has long been used in clinical practice, has demonstrated its safety and the relative absence of side effects, has great potential as a means to combat smoking.
Article by Julia K. Brynildsen et al. Activation of AMPK by metformin improves withdrawal signs precipitated by nicotine withdrawal published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.
Evgenia Ryabtseva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru Based on Johns Hopkins University: Animal Study Suggests Common Diabetes Drug May Also Help with Nicotine Withdrawal.