Commentary: Doxasozin for Alcoholism

Recent preclinical and clinical evidence using prazosin indicates that α 1 ‐blockade may represent a new approach to treat alcohol dependence ( AD ). While most of the alcohol research on α 1 ‐blockade has been conducted testing prazosin, O ' N eil and colleagues recently performed a set of preclinical experiments testing another α 1 ‐blocker, doxazosin, which has a longer half‐life that may enhance clinical utility. Doxazosin and prazosin share the same chemical structure, in which the central element is a piperazine ring. O ' N eil and colleagues' main results are that doxazosin significantly reduced alcohol intake without affecting locomotor activity. As such, O ' N eil and colleagues provide the first preclinical evidence of the possible role of doxazosin in AD . Additional translational research is needed to further test this hypothesis.