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Scripps Research Institute

·September 6, 2023·5 min read

Insomnia Drug May Ward Off Opioid Relapse

A recent study highlights a new benefit of quality sleep: deterring opioid relapse. In the study, rats undergoing oxycodone withdrawal received an experimental insomnia treatment.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 7, 2023·6 min read

Innovative Antibody Counteracts Deadly Opioid Overdoses

Researchers developed an antibody with significant potential to reverse the lethal effects of a carfentanil overdose, according to preclinical tests. Carfentanil, a potent variant of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, is often mixed with illicit drugs, leading to a high number of overdoses.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·July 26, 2023·7 min read

Glutamate Receptor Activation: A Potential Cure for Opioid Addiction?

Scientists discovered a potential new weapon in the battle against opioid use disorder (OUD), a condition that affects over two million people in the U.S. alone. The drug, ADX106772, acts on metabotropic glutamate 2 receptors in the brain, leading to a reduction in oxycodone intake and drug-seeking behavior in an animal model.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·June 12, 2023·6 min read

Alcohol in Excess Hastens Alzheimer’s Progression

Repeated alcohol intoxication can speed up Alzheimer’s disease progression associated with a genetic predisposition. The research demonstrated that mice exposed to consistent alcohol intoxication showed cognitive decline about two months earlier than typically expected.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·April 28, 2023·5 min read

Insomnia Drug Belsomra May Help Treat Opioid Addiction

A preclinical study found that suvorexant (Belsomra), an insomnia drug, could be a potential treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) in rats. If the results are replicated in humans, the drug could offer a promising treatment for the millions of people with OUD and reduce drug intake and block relapse.

Featured Neurology Pain

·April 22, 2023·5 min read

Alcohol Fuels Pain: Study Reveals Link Between Drinking and Chronic Pain

Chronic alcohol consumption can increase sensitivity to pain through two molecular mechanisms. Researchers also identified potential new drug targets for treating alcohol-related chronic pain. Over half of people with alcohol use disorder (AUD) suffer from persistent pain, including alcoholic neuropathy. The study found that alcohol withdrawal could result in neuropathy that was not reversed by re-exposure to alcohol.

Featured Neuroscience

·March 6, 2023·5 min read

How Heavy Alcohol Consumption Increases Brain Inflammation

The immune signaling molecule interleukin 1B (IL-1B) is present at higher levels in mouse models of alcohol use disorder. The IL 1B pathway plays a different role in animal models of AUD, causing inflammation in brain areas that play a critical role in decision-making.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·December 14, 2022·6 min read

Discovery Could Explain Why Women Are More Likely to Get Alzheimer’s

Complement C3, a chemically modified form of an inflammatory immune protein, was more abundant in post mortem brain tissue of women who died from Alzheimer's disease than in males.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·November 18, 2022·5 min read

Can Pharmacotherapies Prevent Alcohol Use Disorder in People With PTSD?

Those with PTSD are almost twice as likely to develop alcohol use disorder than their peers who have not experienced trauma. Researchers report drugs that block FKBP5, such as benztropine, a drug used to control symptoms of Parkinson's disease, and the experimental compound SAFit2 reduce alcohol preference and drinking in models of PTSD.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·July 28, 2022·5 min read

New “Origins of Life” Chemical Reactions Discovered

Researchers discovered a new set of chemical reactions that use cyanide, ammonia, and carbon dioxide generates amino acids and nucleic acids, the building blocks of proteins and DNA.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·June 22, 2022·4 min read

Scientists Identify Sensor Underlying Mechanical Itch Stimulus

Study identifies a specific protein in sensory neurons that detects mechanical itch stimuli such as an insect crawling on the skin or when one touches an object that irritates the skin.