Critical needs in drug discovery for cessation of alcohol and nicotine polysubstance abuse

Critical needs in drug discovery for cessation of alcohol and nicotine polysubstance abuse

Polysubstance abuse of alcohol and nicotine has been overlooked in our understanding of the neurobiology of addiction and especially in the development of novel therapeutics for its treatment. Estimates show that as many as 92% of people with alcohol use disorders also smoke tobacco. The health risk...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry Vol. 65; pp. 269 - 287
Main Authors: Van Skike, C.E., Maggio, S.E., Reynolds, A.R., Casey, E.M., Bardo, M.T., Dwoskin, L.P., Prendergast, M.A., Nixon, K.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: England Elsevier Inc 04-02-2016
Subjects:
Alcohol
Alcohol Deterrents - pharmacology
Alcohol Deterrents - therapeutic use
Alcohol-Related Disorders - complications
Alcohol-Related Disorders - drug therapy
Alcohol-Related Disorders - metabolism
Alcoholism
Animals
Comorbidity
Drug Discovery
Drug Interactions
Humans
Nicotine
Pharmacotherapy
Polysubstance abuse
Smoking
Tobacco Use Cessation Devices
Tobacco Use Disorder - complications
Tobacco Use Disorder - drug therapy
Tobacco Use Disorder - metabolism
FDA
P rat
VTA
AMPA
Alcoholism
Pharmacotherapy
Alcohol
Polysubstance abuse
AUD
nAChRs
GABAAR
NAc
SSRI
NMDA
Smoking
Nicotine
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Summary:Polysubstance abuse of alcohol and nicotine has been overlooked in our understanding of the neurobiology of addiction and especially in the development of novel therapeutics for its treatment. Estimates show that as many as 92% of people with alcohol use disorders also smoke tobacco. The health risks associated with both excessive alcohol consumption and tobacco smoking create an urgent biomedical need for the discovery of effective cessation treatments, as opposed to current approaches that attempt to independently treat each abused agent. The lack of treatment approaches for alcohol and nicotine abuse/dependence mirrors a similar lack of research in the neurobiology of polysubstance abuse. This review discusses three critical needs in medications development for alcohol and nicotine co-abuse: (1) the need for a better understanding of the clinical condition (i.e. alcohol and nicotine polysubstance abuse), (2) the need to better understand how these drugs interact in order to identify new targets for therapeutic development and (3) the need for animal models that better mimic this human condition. Current and emerging treatments available for the cessation of each drug and their mechanisms of action are discussed within this context followed by what is known about the pharmacological interactions of alcohol and nicotine. Much has been and will continue to be gained from studying comorbid alcohol and nicotine exposure.
ISSN:0278-5846
1878-4216
DOI:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2015.11.004