Preclinical Medications Screening in Alcohol Dependence and Anxiety Models

Medical University Of South Carolina, Charleston SC

Investigators

Abstract

Treating alcohol dependence is a great unmet need worldwide and developing medications to treat alcohol dependence remains a high priority of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). To help fulfill this goal, NIAAA has implemented a preclinical medication screening program to foster discovery of lead compounds, targets and mechanisms, and to entice the pharmaceutical industry to develop their best marketable compounds for alcoholism treatment. Previously, ¿proof-of-principle¿ studies were conducted to demonstrate the feasibility for successful testing using the clinically effective compounds naltrexone and acamprosate in rodent models of dispositional heavy drinking. The current contract seeks to test potential medications in heavy drinking paradigms which have demonstrated utility for medication screening.