普通的治疗心脏疾病的药物可能会缓解可卡因成瘾

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Common Heart Drug May Reduce Cocaine Cravings

ScienceDaily (Feb. 28, 2008) — Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School have found that diltiazem, a drug used in the treatment of high blood pressure, reduces cocaine cravings in a rat model.

Previous work showed that two brain chemicals, dopamine and glutamate, independently contribute to the development of cocaine addiction. This new research indicates that calcium channels provide critical links between dopamine and glutamate that drives the intense craving associated with cocaine addiction. Diltiazem, one of a class of drugs known as calcium channel blockers, disrupts the connection between dopamine and glutamate formed during chronic cocaine use.

According to the researchers, brain calcium plays an important role in learning and memory in that calcium influences an enzyme known as the \"memory molecule.\" \"Our work shows that cocaine increases the levels of this molecule specifically in a brain area that controls motivation. Thus, cocaine use teaches the brain to be addicted, resulting in a dysfunctional form of learning that drives the overwhelming desire to consume more cocaine,\" said senior author Chris Pierce, a professor of pharmacology and psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine.

Currently, there are no effective drug therapies for cocaine addiction. Pierce noted that research such as this using animal models could lead to desperately needed medications. \"The strength of this work is that it tells us something fundamental about how brain chemistry changes as cocaine addiction takes hold. Importantly, our findings also suggest new strategies for developing cocaine addiction therapies, which thus far remain elusive,\" he added.

These findings will appear in the March issue of the leading medical journal Nature Neuroscience.

This study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080227155016.htm
科学日报（2008年2月28日）——波士顿大学医学院和哈佛医学院的研究者发现降压药地尔硫卓可以缓解大鼠对可卡因的成瘾性。以往的研究表明多巴胺和谷氨酸盐这两种药都可以引起可卡因成瘾。新的研究表明钙通道是多巴胺和谷氨酸盐造成对可卡因成瘾的关键。地尔硫卓是一种钙通道阻滞剂，在长期服用可卡因时它可以破坏多巴胺和谷氨酸盐之间的联系。研究者认为脑中的钙在学习和记忆中起重要作用，因为钙影响一种称为“记忆分子”的酶。波士顿大学医学院药理学和精神病学教授Chris Pierce说：“我们的研究表明可卡因可以增加这个分子尤其是在控制动机形成的脑区中的含量。这样，使用可卡因后便让脑对其成瘾，从而导致认知机能障碍，促使服用者不断的消耗更多的可卡因。”目前尚未有有效的药物来治疗可卡因的成瘾。Pierce特别提到像这样利用动物模型进行的研究可能会引起令人失望的必需的药物治疗。“这项研究的优势在于它告诉我们一些关于脑中化学递质随着对可卡因的成瘾而发生改变的基础，更重要的是，我们的结果也发现了治疗可卡因成瘾的新方法，这是让人难以捉摸的”，他补充说。这些结果将刊登在《自然神经科学》三月刊中。这项研究受到国立健康研究院的资助。