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Toronto - A drug recently approved for smoking cessation may also help combat alcohol dependence, according to a new animal study released Monday in the newest edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  Drinking and smoking often go hand-in-hand, and addictions to each can be hard to overcome. The recently approved smoking cessation aid Varenicline acts at a set of brain proteins, called nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, to diminish the rewarding valueof nicotine and reduce nicotine cravings.

And mounting evidence suggests that the same set of receptors may also mediate alcohol dependence. Selena Bartlett and colleagues from University of California, San Francisco, investigated the role of Varenicline in modulating alcohol-seeking behavior and dependence in rats trained to drink alcohol voluntarily.

The researchers found that Varenicline at doses similar to those used for smoking cessation led to a reduction in alcohol self-administration and voluntary alcohol consumption in chronically alcohol-exposed rats.

Unlike other treatments that may lead to relapse after stopping the treatment, long-term administration of varenicline prevented a rebound increase in alcohol consumption after the drug was withdrawn.

The findings provide additional evidence that the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors play a role in alcohol dependence. Because of the paucity of available treatments for alcohol addiction, Varenicline may represent a novel and much-needed therapy for alcohol dependence, the authors suggest.

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