JR220 (novel compound) for the Prevention of Excessive Ethanol Intake in C57BL/6J Mouse Model
Alcoholism has a severe impact on society killing approximately 100,000 individuals annually. Medications are available, but these drugs are only marginally effective because patients still struggle with relapse. A recently FDA approved drug, acamprosate may attenuate craving by reducing glutamate signaling, but it is still proven only marginally effective in clinical trials. Therefore a compound was developed, JR220 to more specifically block one of the hypothesized signaling mechanisms, NMDA receptors. The goal of this study is to test potential efficacy of JR220 in reducing excessive ethanol consumption in mice using the Drinking-in the-Dark model (DID). In the DID model, a strain of mouse is used that is genetically predisposed to ingest ethanol. These mice are given ethanol at the height of their activity (dark phase) over a series of days. On alternate days mice will receive JR220 injections before they are given ethanol to drink. If the drug proves to reduce intake in the model, then that would provide further rationale to move forward with JR220 clinical trials.
School:
Dominican University
Department:
Economics / IO
Research Advisor:
Justin Rhodes
Department of Research Advisor:
Psychology
Year of Publication:
2008