Brain Protein Can Curb Binge Drinking

Binge drinking refers to a manner of drinking when someone drinks way too much alcohol over a short period of time. Some may feel it not as harmful as regular and heavy drinking, but the effects of binge drinking on human health have been as damaging as that of excessive alcoholism. In some cases, it's also triggered a host of ailments and diseases.Binge drinking heightens risk of Type 2 and Hypertension The world of science has been trying to break down binge drinking, factors that trigger it, its adverse effects and how to get rid of it. One of such recent attempts include a research carried out by a team at the University of North Carolina. Experts have been able to find a certain protein in the brain which can play a pivotal role in curbing alcohol craving and binge drinking. "Using a series of genetic and pharmacological approaches, we identified how a compound in the brain, Neuropeptide Y (NPY), can suppress this dangerous behaviour," explained Thomas L Kash, assistant professor at University of North Carolina's (UNC) school of medicine. The team found that NPY acted in a part of the brain known as the extended amygdala that is linked to both stress and reward.How does it work? According to the experts, there exists a group of cells that induce and produce 'pro-drinking molecule' called corticotropin releasing factor (CRF). The experts tried controlling these cells by increasing inhibitions on them, which lead to a decrease in alcohol-seeking behavior. "When we mimicked the actions of NPY using engineered proteins, we were also able to suppress binge alcohol drinking in mice," Kash noted. "What is particularly exciting is that these findings suggest that restoring NPY may not only be useful for treating alcohol use disorders, but may also protect some individuals from becoming alcohol dependent," emphasised study co-author Todd E Thiele, professor of psychology at UNC. The study was published online in the journal Nature Neuroscience and explains that this anti-drinking NPY system is altered by long-term alcohol drinking in multiple species, suggesting that this may be either a marker or treatment for alcohol abuse. Prior to this there have been other studies establishing association between certain other proteins and compounds in human body to alcohol craving. Lorenzo Leggio, clinical investigator at US National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), along with his team looked at the role of a certain gut hormone - Ghrelin - in inducing alcoholism. Binge Drinking or Drinking Daily? How Habits Change As You Age "The findings provide a direct translation of the role of ghrelin in alcohol-seeking behaviours in humans from previous research conducted in rodents," said Lorenzo Leggio. "This sheds new light on a role for ghrelin in alcohol craving, raising the possibility that ghrelin signalling might be targeted by future treatment for alcohol use disorders," concluded John Krystal, Editor of the Journal Biological Psychiatry in which the study was published. Why We Crave AlcoholInputs from IANS