Effects of Ghrelin on Alcohol Cue Reactivity and Craving

Summary

Only a few medications are approved for the treatment of alcohol dependence and there exists a substantial need for discovering ways to provide more effective treatments. Accordingly, identifying new potential neuropharmacological targets in the treatment of alcohol dependence represents a high priority in public health. Ghrelin is a 28-amino acid peptide acting as the endogenous ligand for the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS-R). Ghrelin was first isolated from the stomach, but a central hypothalamic production of ghrelin has also been demonstrated. Ghrelin plays a key role in the regulation of appetite. Consistent with the common neurobiological substrates for control of food and alcohol consumption, preclinical investigations suggest that ghrelin plays a role in the neurobiology of alcohol dependence, thus representing a new potential neuropharmacology target. In keeping with the preclinical studies, human investigations showed that alcohol consumption affects blood ghrelin levels and that blood ghrelin levels significantly and positively correlate with craving measurements in alcohol-dependent individuals. The effects of exogenous ghrelin injected intravenous (i.v.) in alcohol-dependent individuals, however, have never been investigated. The current project proposes a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled 3-group between-subject laboratory study aimed at investigating the effects of exogenous ghrelin i.v. on non-treatment seeking alcohol-dependent subjects in terms of urges to drink, attention to cues and related psychophysiological measures. This project has the goals to: i) conduct an alcohol laboratory study testing the role of ghrelin i.v., therefore demonstrating the feasibility of such a study and the safety of ghrelin i.v. when administered to alcohol-dependent individuals; and ii) explore the effects of ghrelin i.v. on alcohol craving assessed under controlled conditions, such as a cue-reactivity (CR) experiment. This study will address whether alcohol craving is affected when ghrelin levels are modified acutely via a ghrelin i.v. injection. Given the crucial need to expand our understanding of the underlying neurobiology of alcoholism, this study potentially will lead to identify new targets for the development of pharmacological treatments that may improve interventions for alcohol dependent individuals.

Timeline

Start

2011-04

Primary completion

2012-11

Completion

—

Publications

• Background Leggio L. Role of the ghrelin system in alcoholism: Acting on the growth hormone secretagogue receptor to treat alcohol-related diseases. Drug News Perspect. 2010 Apr;23(3):157-66. doi: 10.1358/dnp.2010.23.3.1429490.
• Background Addolorato G, Capristo E, Leggio L, Ferrulli A, Abenavoli L, Malandrino N, Farnetti S, Domenicali M, D'Angelo C, Vonghia L, Mirijello A, Cardone S, Gasbarrini G. Relationship between ghrelin levels, alcohol craving, and nutritional status in current alcoholic patients. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2006 Nov;30(11):1933-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2006.00238.x.
• Background Jerlhag E, Egecioglu E, Landgren S, Salome N, Heilig M, Moechars D, Datta R, Perrissoud D, Dickson SL, Engel JA. Requirement of central ghrelin signaling for alcohol reward. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Jul 7;106(27):11318-23. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0812809106. Epub 2009 Jun 29.
• Background Leggio L, Addolorato G, Cippitelli A, Jerlhag E, Kampov-Polevoy AB, Swift RM. Role of feeding-related pathways in alcohol dependence: A focus on sweet preference, NPY, and ghrelin. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2011 Feb;35(2):194-202. doi: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2010.01334.x. Epub 2010 Nov 8.
• Background Leggio L, Ferrulli A, Cardone S, Nesci A, Miceli A, Malandrino N, Capristo E, Canestrelli B, Monteleone P, Kenna GA, Swift RM, Addolorato G. Ghrelin system in alcohol-dependent subjects: role of plasma ghrelin levels in alcohol drinking and craving. Addict Biol. 2012 Mar;17(2):452-64. doi: 10.1111/j.1369-1600.2010.00308.x. Epub 2011 Mar 11.
• Results Leggio L, Zywiak WH, Fricchione SR, Edwards SM, de la Monte SM, Swift RM, Kenna GA. Intravenous ghrelin administration increases alcohol craving in alcohol-dependent heavy drinkers: a preliminary investigation. Biol Psychiatry. 2014 Nov 1;76(9):734-41. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.03.019. Epub 2014 Mar 25.

Drugs

Indications