• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Saturday, June 14, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News

Commercial weight-loss drug could help treat opioid addiction

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
February 8, 2017
in Science News
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
ADVERTISEMENT
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Scientists are working to come up with new therapies to curb America's opioid epidemic and aid hospitals, doctors and public health officials in this fight. Now one team reports in the journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience that the commercial weight-loss drug lorcaserin, when given to rats who had been self-administering oxycodone, appeared to reduce their use of and craving for the opioid.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the number of deaths in the U.S. from prescription opioid overdoses has quadrupled since 1999 to the present day. Existing treatments to help people quit using the drugs typically work by blocking or competing for the receptors that opioids bind to, dampening their euphoric effects. But people who have tried these medications often relapse, particularly in environments they associate with past drug use. Kathryn A. Cunningham and colleagues wanted to see if lorcaserin could help prevent this effect. Previous preclinical studies suggested that the medicine can curb cocaine and nicotine cravings, even when tested in tempting environments.

The researchers administered lorcaserin to rats who had been taking oxycodone. These rats were subsequently less likely to take oxycodone and exhibit drug-seeking behaviors than the rats that didn't get the treatment. This was true even when the lorcaserin-treated rats were exposed to cues such as lights and sounds that the animals were conditioned to associate with oxycodone.

###

The authors acknowledge funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Center for Addiction Research at the University of Texas Medical Branch.

The abstract that accompanies this study is available here.

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With nearly 157,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. ACS does not conduct research, but publishes and publicizes peer-reviewed scientific studies. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact [email protected].

Follow us on Twitter | Facebook

Media Contact

Katie Cottingham
[email protected]
301-775-8455
@ACSpressroom

http://www.acs.org

############

Story Source: Materials provided by Scienmag

Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Perivascular Fluid Diffusivity Predicts Early Parkinson’s Decline

Perivascular Fluid Diffusivity Predicts Early Parkinson’s Decline

June 14, 2025
blank

Are Traditional Podcasters Becoming Obsolete? AI-Driven Podcasts Pave the Way for Accessible Science

June 14, 2025

Rewrite The untranslatability of environmental affective scales: insights from indigenous soundscape perceptions in China as a headline for a science magazine post, using no more than 8 words

June 14, 2025

Rewrite Two frontiers: Illinois experts combine forces to develop novel nanopore sensing platform this news headline for the science magazine post

June 13, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • Green brake lights in the front could reduce accidents

    Study from TU Graz Reveals Front Brake Lights Could Drastically Diminish Road Accident Rates

    158 shares
    Share 63 Tweet 40
  • New Study Uncovers Unexpected Side Effects of High-Dose Radiation Therapy

    75 shares
    Share 30 Tweet 19
  • Pancreatic Cancer Vaccines Eradicate Disease in Preclinical Studies

    68 shares
    Share 27 Tweet 17
  • How Scientists Unraveled the Mystery Behind the Gigantic Size of Extinct Ground Sloths—and What Led to Their Demise

    65 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
v>

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Perivascular Fluid Diffusivity Predicts Early Parkinson’s Decline

Are Traditional Podcasters Becoming Obsolete? AI-Driven Podcasts Pave the Way for Accessible Science

Rewrite The untranslatability of environmental affective scales: insights from indigenous soundscape perceptions in China as a headline for a science magazine post, using no more than 8 words

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.