Journal
ADDICTION BIOLOGY
Volume 14, Issue 4, Pages 500-502Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/j.1369-1600.2009.00168.x
Keywords
123I-IB2M storage phosphor imaging; dopamine receptor; drug partial agonism; nicotric receptor alpha 4 beta 2; striatum; varenicline
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Funding
- ZonMW/NIDA [311-80-003]
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Increasing dopamine D-2/3 receptor availability is postulated to be a treatment for drug addiction. Varenicline, an alpha 4 beta 2-nicotinic partial agonist, is effective for nicotine dependence. We hypothesize that varenicline increases dopamine D-2/3 receptor availability. Twenty male drug-naive rats were randomized to varenicline (2 mg/kg) or placebo for 14 days, and then injected with the dopamine D-2/3 radiotracer I-123-IBZM. We found significantly higher striatum-to-cerebellum binding ratios in both dorsal and ventral striatum for the varenicline group compared with placebo. Varenicline increases dopamine D-2/3 receptor availability in drug-naive rats. Therefore, varenicline may be an effective treatment for addictions other than smoking.
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