Researchers recruited 144 alcohol-dependent adult men and women to participate in the 12-week study. Participants randomly received either a placebo medication or the new treatment called ABT-436. The medication is designed to block the effects of vasopressin receptors, neuropeptides created in the hypothalamus of the brain, which regulate stress and anxiety.
For the study period, researchers monitored the participants’ mood changes and smoking habits, in addition to alcohol consumption. The ABT-436 cohort experienced more days of abstention than those in the placebo group — 51.2 compared to 41.6.
“Our findings suggest that potential future studies with drugs targeting vasopressin blockade should focus on populations of people with AUD who also report high levels of stress,” said Megan Ryan, MD, the study’s first author and a clinical project manager in the National Institute on Alcohol abuse and Alcoholism Division of Medications Development.
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