An experimental drug called mavoglurant can reduce alcohol consumption and cocaine In people with consumption disorder of this last narcotic, according to the results of a new clinical trial in phase 2 with 68 participants.
The work, published on Wednesday in Science Translational Medicine, concludes that the group of participants received by Mavoglurant consumed, in general, cocaine less days and also showed evidence of a lower alcohol intake.
Although broader and longer tests are needed, The results suggest that this drug should be explored more as therapy for cocaine or alcohol dependence the researchers point out.
Cocaine consumption remains a pressing problem for public health, since its improper use can cause premature death, long -term health complications and social problems for the consumer, remember a magazine note.
Previous investigations had already shown that A receiver called Mglur5 plays a central role in addiction to this narcotic and reward processing suggesting that it could be a goal for new therapies.
And studies in animals had suggested that the lock of the receiver inhibits self -administering and the search for cocaine in rodents.
In this phase 2 essay, Baltazar Gómez-Mancilla, of the McGill University (Canada), and researchers from other centers tested the effects of Mavoglurant, which inhibits Mglur5 and that, in addition, it is being studied as a treatment for the fragile X chromosome syndrome.
During the 98 -day essay, The researchers administered (oral) Mavoglurant or a placebo twice a day to 68 adults between 18 and 57 years with cocaine consumption disorder.
The team examined the changes in the intake of this narcotic due to a retrospective self -report of the participants, as well as by analysis of urine and hair samples to detect cocaine metabolites.
In general, The group that received Mavoglurant consumed cocaine less days and showed evidence of a lower alcohol shot.
The drug mainly caused mild side effects, such as headache and dizziness, and 76 % of the participants completed the entire treatment.
The authors, also attached to Novartis institutes for biomedical research, They recognize that their results are limited by short duration and small studio sizeand request more jobs with more diverse populations to analyze the long -term effects of mavoglurant on cocaine consumption.
Esteban Ortiz-Prado, professor and researcher at the University of the Americas (Ecuador) and director of the One Health Research Group, points out that it is a “well designed and promising” clinical trial, which addresses one of the great challenges in addiction medicine: the absence of effective pharmacological treatments for cocaine consumption disorder.
The authors evaluated Mavoglurant, a selective antagonist of the MGLUR5 receptor, which showed “a statistically significant reduction” in the use of cocaine compared to the placebo. In addition, a parallel reduction in alcohol consumption was observed, which could indicate shared neurobiological mechanisms between both substances.
However, the study has important limitations -also recognized by the authors themselves. The sample was small, predominantly composed of white men and the duration of the monitoring was short. “It would be essential to evaluate this drug in more diverse populations, including regions with high load of consumption such as Latin America.”
Although the results are encouraging from the clinical point of view, important questions remain without resolving, says Ortiz-Prado, which does not participate in the study.
Among them, their cost, in the event that it is approved, or If it would be accessible to consumers who, for the most part, belong to vulnerable groups with few resources adds to Science Media Center, a platform of scientific resources for journalists.
The study also participated scientists from the Research Institute of the Hospital del Mar and the Clinic Hospital, both in Barcelona, and the Miguel Hernández University (Elche).