PTSD & Alcohol Use Disorder: New Drug Treatment
- About 12 million adults in the United States are affected by PTSD, impacting between 4% and 8% of the adult population - and up to 30% of military...
- When these disorders co-occur,they tend to worsen one another,making effective treatment substantially more challenging.Currently, no approved medications effectively treat PTSD and AUD together, and many available drugs come...
- Researchers from Florida atlantic University's Charles E.
About 12 million adults in the United States are affected by PTSD, impacting between 4% and 8% of the adult population – and up to 30% of military personnel and veterans. Strikingly, 63% of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder also suffer from alcohol use disorder (AUD) and/or chronic pain. These conditions frequently overlap, with individuals who have AUD or chronic pain often also experiencing PTSD.
When these disorders co-occur,they tend to worsen one another,making effective treatment substantially more challenging.Currently, no approved medications effectively treat PTSD and AUD together, and many available drugs come with serious side effects or limited results.
Researchers from Florida atlantic University‘s Charles E. schmidt Collage of Medicine in collaboration with the University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy, conducted two complementary studies in rats to explore how a new drug, PPL-138, might help treat PTSD and its common companions - anxiety, chronic pain, and AUD. A type of opioid partial agonist, PPL-138 works by targeting specific opioid receptors in the brain.
Intellectual property related to PPL-138 is owned by Phoenix PharmaLabs, Inc. The company is in the process of advancing PPL-138 through clinical trials.
the first study, carried out at the University of Oklahoma, looked at whether long-term treatment with PPL-138 could reduce PTSD-related symptoms in chronic traumatic stress.The second study, conducted at FAU, focused on the relationship between trauma, anxiety and alcohol use, and researchers divided rats into different groups.
Results, published in the British Journal of Pharmacology, provide promising evidence that PPL-138 could become a valuable treatment for PTSD and alcohol misuse – particularly when symptoms are rooted in anxiety. By targeting a brain system involved in both stress and addiction, researchers believe PPL-138 may one day offer a much-needed breakthrough for those struggling with these life-altering conditions.
Findings show that PPL-138 significantly reduced anxiety-like behavior, pain responses, and alcohol consumption – but only in rats that developed PTSD-like symptoms. In both male and female rats, the drug selectively reduced alcohol use in those that also showed signs of trauma-related anxiety, without affecting those that were resilient or not stressed.
“Our results show that PPL-138 not only reduces trauma-related anxiety and pain, but also selectively curbs alcohol use in rats most vulnerable to stress-induced drinking,” said Andrea Cippitelli, Ph.D., lead author and an assistant professor in the
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Significant Considerations for the Full Article (Based on your instructions):
* Semantic Branching: This content is a good starting point, but needs expansion. Consider sections like:
* What is PTSD? (Detailed explanation, symptoms, diagnosis)
* What is AUD? (Detailed explanation, symptoms, diagnosis)
* The Link between PTSD and AUD: (Why they frequently