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Clinical study of GIRK channel inhibitors as candidate medicines for drug dependence
- Source :
- Folia Pharmacologica Japonica. 155:130-134
- Publication Year :
- 2020
- Publisher :
- Japanese Pharmacological Society, 2020.
-
Abstract
- Recently, topics related to substance dependence and behavioral addiction have been reported through the media. Therapeutic treatment for substance dependence and behavioral addiction is one of the challenges in a clinical practice. This is because there is no therapeutic treatment for a complete cure, and reuses and repetitive hospitalization occur in patients. Therefore, it is an urgent need to develop new treatments for substance dependence and behavioral addiction. In the present review, we outline associations between dependence and G-protein-activated inwardly rectifying potassium (GIRK) channels which we focus on as therapeutic targets, and introduce ongoing clinical study using an inhibitor of GIRK channels. Previous studies including animals and patients have accumulated the results that GIRK channels have a key role for mediating signals from addictive substances. GIRK channels are expressed in various rodent brain regions including the reward system. The activation of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) that activates GIRK channels through G-protein βγ subunits and activated GIRK channels contribute to control of neuronal excitability. Pretreatment with ifenprodil that is one of the GIRK channel blockers suppressed addictive substance-induced behaviors in animals. Ifenprodil is safe and broadly used as a cerebral circulation/metabolism ameliorator that is covered by medical insurance in Japan. The authors reported that ifenprodil treatment for 3 months decreased alcohol use scores in patients with alcohol dependence compared with patients who received the control medication. We currently conduct a clinical trial to investigate the outcomes of ifenprodil treatment for methamphetamine dependence. In the future, we will expand clinical studies using ifenprodil for patients with other substance dependence and behavioral addiction.
- Subjects :
- 0301 basic medicine
Drug
Behavioral addiction
Substance-Related Disorders
media_common.quotation_subject
Amphetamine-Related Disorders
Methamphetamine
03 medical and health sciences
chemistry.chemical_compound
0302 clinical medicine
Japan
Piperidines
Reward
medicine
Ifenprodil
Animals
Humans
G protein-coupled inwardly-rectifying potassium channel
media_common
Neurons
Pharmacology
Clinical Trials as Topic
Substance dependence
urogenital system
business.industry
Addiction
Alcohol dependence
medicine.disease
030104 developmental biology
G Protein-Coupled Inwardly-Rectifying Potassium Channels
chemistry
medicine.symptom
business
Neuroscience
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
medicine.drug
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 13478397 and 00155691
- Volume :
- 155
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Folia Pharmacologica Japonica
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....342f0a04101c09446da144579951dc19