In a significant finding, researchers from The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) and UConn Health have discovered that sodium valerate, a short-chain fatty acid produced by gut microbes, can dramatically reduce binge drinking behavior and blood ethanol concentration in mice. The study, reported June 17 in Microbiome , offers promising insights into the gut-brain axis and presents a novel therapeutic approach for excessive alcohol use. We are interested in physiological addiction genetics and genomics to identify new drug targets for treating addiction/overdose.
The research team, led by Yanjiao Zhou, M.D., Ph.
D., associate professor of medicine at UConn Health, and Jason Bubier, Ph.D.
, senior research scientist at JAX, conducted a detailed investigation into the effects of short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) supplementation on alcohol consumption patterns in a mouse model. They administered three individual SCFAs and found that sodium valerate led to a 40% reduction in alcohol intake and a 53% decrease in blood ethanol levels. These results were accompanied by significant molecular changes that suggest sodium valerate could be a potent new therapy for reducing binge drinking.
Despite the widespread prevalence of alcohol use disorder, only three medications to date-;disulfiram, naltrexone, and acamprosate-;have been approved by FDA for treating patients. Most recently, the FDA approved naltrexone as an oral medication in 1994 and as an extended-release injectable in 2006. The study expands o.
