A DRUG that prevents seizures might help wean alcoholics off the bottle. Gabapentin was developed to treat epilepsy, but has now reduced drinking in alcohol-dependent rats.
A team led by Marisa Roberto at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in La Jolla, California, injected gabapentin into the rats and saw a dramatic reduction in their voluntary alcohol consumption (). The drug had no apparent effect on normal rats.
Previous studies have shown that gabapentin helps relieve withdrawal symptoms in human alcoholics who have given up drinking. This makes sense, as the drug mimics…
