Gene therapy injection into the brain causes alcohol use disorder to stop in monkeys.
A small study in monkeys shows that a single gene therapy injection can help treat people with alcohol use disorder who haven’t responded to other treatments. The therapy “resets” the brain’s reward system by increasing the production of dopamine, a feel-good hormone. This reduces heavy drinking and maintains the effects over a year.
In the study, four monkeys were given access to large amounts of ethanol and developed heavy drinking habits. A gene therapy was then injected into their brains to increase the production of dopamine. The monkeys’ alcohol consumption decreased by more than 90%, and they continued to produce normal levels of dopamine for at least a year.
The same therapy could potentially be used in humans with alcohol use disorder, which is a medical condition that causes people to drink heavily despite negative impacts on their daily lives. Excessive drinking leads to around 140,000 deaths per year in the US.
However, it’s important to note that the long-term side effects of this treatment are still unclear, and brain surgery can be an invasive approach. The study’s lead author emphasizes that this therapy would only be suitable for very severe cases of alcohol use disorder.
Source: https://www.livescience.com/health/alcohol/gene-therapy-injection-into-the-brain-causes-alcohol-use-disorder-to-stop-in-monkeys