New Options in the Treatment of Cocaine Dependency

Abstract

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) suggests that gamma vinyl-GABA (GVG), a drug used to treat epilepsy, may prove to be an effective treatment for cocaine addiction. Researchers from New York University School of Medicine and Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York, reported in a small, preliminary clinical trial conducted in Mexico that this drug could cut cocaine use dramatically in people who had used cocaine daily for at least 3 years [80]. GVG reduced levels of dopamine, the “feel-good” chemical that floods the brains of cocaine users, providing the “high” they crave (Fig. 50). Using GVG to temper the dopamine system may very effectively block the addiction-related effects of cocaine. The people who completed the study said their craving for the drug was eliminated after 2–3 weeks of continuous GVG administration, the authors report. In addition, those who completed the trial also showed improved self-esteem, re-established healthy family relationships, went to work, or actively sought work. Such preliminary finding has important implications for our medications development program.