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Commentary: Doxasozin for Alcoholism
Author(s) -
Leggio Lorenzo,
Kenna George A.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/acer.12064
Subject(s) - doxazosin , prazosin , blockade , medicine , pharmacology , psychology , antagonist , receptor , blood pressure
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.