Exendin-4: A Diabetes Medication May Help Cocaine Addicts Quit

Can an existing diabetes drug cure cocaine addiction?

Well, more experiments are needed, but Vanderbilt University researchers say that the diabetes drug Exendin-4, which targets dopamine systems in the brain, may also work against cocaine and meth addiction.

The Experiment

Using animal subjects, the researchers injected Exendin-4 and watched to see how the medication would influence cocaine consumption.

The Results

• The medication, which is simply a synthetic and long lasting version of the peptide hormone GLP-1, blocked the rewarding effects (the high) from cocaine.
• This result occurred regardless of the dose of Exendin-4 given
• There were no noticeable side effects
• Although the drug was only tested against cocaine, the researchers suspect it would also dull the rewarding effects of other psycho-stimulants, like methamphetamine, and that it would work for other disorders which have a dopaminergic component, such as obesity and schizophrenia.

Significance

The researchers say that the findings are significant because:

• The medication is already FDA approved to treat diabetes and so should be easily transferable to addiction medicine.
• There are no existing effective medications for psycho-stimulant addiction

Commentary

Lead researcher Gregg Stanwood, Ph.D noted that since addiction is such a complex disorder in humans it’s unlikely that all people would respond to the medication or that it would ‘cure’ addiction for anyone, stating, "We don't expect this to be a magic bullet where one can simply take this drug and their addiction goes away, but hopefully a medicine like this, in combination with social and behavioral support, will help an addict on the road to recovery."