Abstract
Polysubstance abuse of alcohol and nicotine has been overlooked in our understanding of the neurobiology of addiction and especially in the development of novel therapeutics for its treatment. Estimates show that as many as 92% of people with alcohol use disorders also smoke tobacco. The health risks associated with both excessive alcohol consumption and tobacco smoking create an urgent biomedical need for the discovery of effective cessation treatments, as opposed to current approaches that attempt to independently treat each abused agent. The lack of treatment approaches for alcohol and nicotine abuse/dependence mirrors a similar lack of research in the neurobiology of polysubstance abuse. This review discusses three critical needs in medications development for alcohol and nicotine co-abuse: (1) the need for a better understanding of the clinical condition (i.e. alcohol and nicotine polysubstance abuse), (2) the need to better understand how these drugs interact in order to identify new targets for therapeutic development and (3) the need for animal models that better mimic this human condition. Current and emerging treatments available for the cessation of each drug and their mechanisms of action are discussed within this context followed by what is known about the pharmacological interactions of alcohol and nicotine. Much has been and will continue to be gained from studying comorbid alcohol and nicotine exposure.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2016
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2015.11.004
Funding Information
The authors thank colleague, Dr. James R. Pauly, for critical review and comment on the manuscript. We are thankful especially for pilot support from the University of Kentucky Center for Clinical and Transla- tional Science (UL1TR000117) and the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the National Institute on Drug Abuse for grants P50DA05312 (MTB), R01AA013388 (MAP), R01AA016959 (KN), R01DA12964 (MTB), T32DA016176 (LPD, CEV, EMC), and T32DA035200 (ARR) for support of the work described herein.
Repository Citation
Van Skike, C. E.; Maggio, Sarah E.; Reynolds, A. R.; Casey, E. M.; Bardo, Michael T.; Dwoskin, Linda P.; Prendergast, M. A.; and Nixon, Kimberly, "Critical needs in drug discovery for cessation of alcohol and nicotine polysubstance abuse" (2016). Psychology Faculty Publications. 243.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/psychology_facpub/243
Notes/Citation Information
0278-5846/© 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.