Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research
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Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. · Aug 2013
Activation of PPARγ by pioglitazone potentiates the effects of naltrexone on alcohol drinking and relapse in msP rats.
Pioglitazone is a selective peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) agonist used for the treatment of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Previous studies conducted in our laboratory showed that activation of PPARγ by pioglitazone reduces alcohol drinking, stress-induced relapse, and alcohol withdrawal syndrome in rats. Pioglitazone was not able to prevent relapse elicited by alcohol cues. Conversely, the nonselective opioid antagonist naltrexone has been shown to reduce alcohol drinking and cue- but not stress-induced relapse in rodents. ⋯ The drug combination was effective in reducing both relapse behaviors. These findings open new vistas in the use pioglitazone in combination with naltrexone for the treatment of alcoholism.