New Strategy For Treating Cocaine Addiction, Animal Research Suggests

ScienceDaily (Apr. 8, 2008) — New research in monkeys suggests the feasibility of treating cocaine addiction with a "replacement" drug that mimics the effects of cocaine but has less potential for abuse -- similar to the way nicotine and heroin addictions are treated.

Reporting at the annual meeting of the American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics in San Diego, Calif., scientists from Wake Forest University School of Medicine said treating monkeys with amphetamine significantly reduced their self-administration of cocaine for up to a month.

"This suggests the possibility of developing an amphetamine-like drug for treating cocaine addiction," said Paul Czoty, Ph.D., lead author and assistant professor of physiology and pharmacology. "The research also demonstrates the usefulness for conducting studies in monkeys to test potential treatments."

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