Drinking is one of the greatest reasons why one person looses his/her health. The more they consume alcohol, the more they become prone to different kind  of diseases, some more serious than others. But now, a new medicine that targets part of the brain's stress system may help in curing people with alcohol use disorder (AUD), according to a new study.
 

Researchers, led by Raye Litten, from US National Institue on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, conducted a clinical trial of a new compound, called ABT-436, designed to block the effects of vasopressin, a new uropeptide produced in the brain's hypothalamus. "Vasopressin helps to regulate the pituitary adrenal axis and other brain circuits involved in emotion. As such, it plays a role in  regulating stress, anxiety and their interaction with AUD," said Litten.
 

Litten and colleagues recruited 144 alcohol-dependent adult men and women for the 12-weeks study. During a 28 day baseline period, female participants consumed at least 28 drinks per week, while male participants consumed at least consumed 35 drinks per week. Participants were then randomised to  recieve either placebo  tablets or ones containing ABT-436 compound.
 

Researchers found that participants who recieved ABT-436 abstained from alcohol for more days than  those who were given the placebo. Participants who reported high levels of stress appeared to response better to ABT-436. Experts suspect that ABT-436 targeted the same areas in the brain that related to withdrawl and stress, and, in the process,  influenced both tobacco and alcohol use disorders.