In a groundbreaking drug study using mice and rats, two members of UCSF’s Neurology department have tapped into a potential new treatment for alcoholism in humans.

Robert Messing, MD, professor of neurology and associate director of UCSF’s Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center, and Philip Newton, PhD, assistant adjunct professor of neurology and associate investigator at the Emeryville-based research center, tested an existing drug that blocks the N-type calcium channel, a molecular switch in the brain that enables alcohol to produce its intoxicating effects. <Full article>

Publication:
Newton PM, Zeng L, Wang V,Connolly J, Wallace MJ, Kim C, Shin HS, Belardetti F, Snutch TP, Messing RO. A Blocker of N- and T-type Voltage-Gated Calcium Channels Attenuates Ethanol-Induced Intoxication, Place Preference, Self-Administration, and Reinstatement. J. Neurosci. 28(45):11712-11719, 2008.