By Michelle Jaffee
University of Florida neuroscientists have made a mechanistic discovery that paves the way to test immune-modulating medicines as a potential tool to break the cycle of methamphetamine addiction.
In a new preclinical study, a McKnight Brain Institute team led by Habibeh Khoshbouei, Ph.D., Pharm.D., examined the role of neuroinflammation in meth addiction to provide a deeper understanding of the mechanisms at work.
“Unlike alcohol or opioids, there currently is no medicinal therapeutic approach for methamphetamine addiction,” said Khoshbouei, a professor of neuroscience and psychiatry. “So this is an important societal issue.”
A highly addictive psychostimulant, meth causes feelings of pleasure and euphoria by increasing dopamine, a chemical released during pleasurable activities, and the potent drug is also infamous for causing inflammation and wound-healing problems such as “meth mouth,” or severe dental decay.
The findings, reported on Dec. 16 in Science Signaling, reveal a previously unknown sequence of reactions in the brain involving meth-induced spikes of dopamine and a key signaling protein, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF), a regulator of both acute and chronic inflammation.