Against smoking and diabetes
An unusual way to overcome nicotine addiction has been discovered
Scientists have found that pioglitazone , a substance used in drugs for type 2 diabetes, has another positive property. It reduces cravings for nicotine. The results of the study are published in the Journal of Neuroscience (Domi et al., Activation of PPARy attenuates the expression of physical and affective nicotine withdrawal symptoms through mechanisms involving amygdala and hippocampus neurotransmission).
In heavy smokers, attempts to quit smoking are usually accompanied by a painful reaction of the body to the absence of the usual dose of nicotine. The symptoms of this condition called nicotine withdrawal – increased appetite, anxiety, irritability and depression – are often so painful that people start smoking again because of it.
Scientists from Italy, Sweden and the USA, led by Esi Domi from Linkoping University (Sweden), found that the drug pioglitazone eliminates the negative effects of nicotine withdrawal in rats and mice.
The antidiabetic effect of drugs of the thiazolidinedione class, to which pioglitazone belongs, is based on the selective stimulation of receptors activated by the proliferator peroxisome – gamma (PPAR γ), which alters the transcription of insulin-sensitive genes. As a result, the patient's sensitivity to insulin in the liver and tissues increases, and the level of glucose in the blood decreases.
At the same time, it is known that the PPARy receptors are located in those areas of the brain that are responsible for nicotine and drug addiction. During clinical trials of pioglitazone, it was noted that patients taking it reduced the need for self-administration of alcohol and drugs, as well as improved mood.
Studies at the molecular level have revealed the mechanism of pioglitazone in brain cells. Under the influence of the substance, the expression of PPAR increased in gabaergic cells of the hippocampus, transmitting signals using gamma-aminobutyric acid - the most important inhibitory neurotransmitter of the central nervous system, as well as in cells of the amygdala.
Direct injections of pioglitazone into the hippocampus of male mice reduced the manifestation of such signs of nicotine withdrawal as tremor of the paws, general trembling and shaking of the head. The introduction of pioglitazone into the amygdala relieved the state of anxiety associated with nicotine withdrawal.
Scientists believe that their discovery will create new drug strategies to combat smoking. Given that smokers develop type 2 diabetes 30 percent more often than non-smokers, pioglitazone can be considered as a complex remedy that reduces physical and emotional suffering when quitting smoking and at the same time reducing insulin resistance.
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