Being free of any addiction takes a lot of will power even if there are innumerable rehabilitation therapies available. What if some therapy would actually block the "signal" in one's brain that's addiction-related?

Well, scientific miracles are abound these days that an international research team led by the University of Saskatchewan actually discovered a signaling pathway in the brain involved in drug addiction and a method for blocking its action, which may point to a single treatment strategy for most addictions.

The team, led by Xia Zhang, associate professor in the U of S department of psychiatry, found that a naturally occurring enzyme known as PTEN acts on the part of the brain where many drugs of abuse exert their rewarding effects - the ventral tegmental area (VTA).

Zhang, who worked with colleagues at the U of S, University of Toronto, and Vanderbilt University in Tennessee on the project, explains that VTA brain cells are sensitive to serotonin, a hormone associated with learning, sleep and mood. The team discovered that PTEN acts on these serotonin receptors, increasing brain cell activity. This is the same "reward" process sparked by drugs of abuse.

Armed with this knowledge, the team designed a molecule called a peptide, tailored to fit the serotonin receptors and block PTEN. When rats were treated with this PTEN-blocker, it shut down the drug reward process - including the process that induces craving and withdrawal.

The results of the study suggest a potential universal strategy for treating drug addiction. However, much work remains to be done before a treatment based on the discovery could be developed to help drug addicts including several years of further testing, including animal and human trials.

The study's findings will appear in the March issue of the prestigious journal Nature Medicine.

Source: [EurekAlert]