{"id":8581,"date":"2012-11-12T13:54:41","date_gmt":"2012-11-12T13:54:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/?p=8581"},"modified":"2012-11-12T13:54:41","modified_gmt":"2012-11-12T13:54:41","slug":"cuddle-chemical-oxytocin-relieves-alcohol-withdrawal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/2012\/11\/cuddle-chemical-oxytocin-relieves-alcohol-withdrawal\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Cuddle Chemical\u2019 Oxytocin Relieves Alcohol Withdrawal"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Oxytocin is best known for its role in creating social bonds, but it may also forge the chains of addiction. The \u201clove hormone\u201d oxytocin can relieve symptoms of withdrawal in people recovering from alcoholism, according to a small new study. <\/p>\n

Research has long suggested that oxytocin\u2014 called the \u201clove\u201d or \u201chug\u201d hormone for its role in social bonding\u2014 is a complicated chemical. It is released during orgasm and birth and other bonding moments between lovers or family members, but oxytocin may also help create the unhealthy ties that bind alcoholics and addicts to their drugs of choice. <\/p>\n

Indeed, in rodents, oxytocin can successfully fight unpleasant alcohol and heroin withdrawal symptoms. And if given before the addiction even occurs, the hormone may even prevent the development of tolerance and symptoms of physical dependence. <\/p>\n

The new study included 11 people with alcoholism severe enough to produce withdrawal symptoms, but not so severe that this withdrawal would produce potentially life-threatening seizures. <\/p>\n

That was important, because during detox, people with alcoholism are typically given benzodiazepines. These are drugs like Valium (diazepam) or Ativan (lorazepam) and they relieve withdrawal symptoms, including seizures. People who suffer seizures must be given regular doses of the drugs; others can just take them as needed for comfort. The doses taken by those not at risk of seizures, consequently, provide a good measure of how bad the withdrawal is. <\/p>\n

And oxytocin was found to help dramatically. Those given the hormone required nearly five times less lorazepam to get through detox, compared to those on placebo. They also had less anxiety. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur results are the first evidence that [oxytocin] may block alcohol withdrawal symptoms in humans,\u201d the authors write. They say, however, that the results should be considered \u201cvery preliminary\u201d because of the extremely small number of participants. <\/p>\n

Oxytocin itself is not addictive: most people given a nasal spray containing the hormone cannot distinguish it from placebo, although about 1\/3 of men get erections and people do become more trusting and cooperative in some settings. It does not automatically cause people to fall in love either, at least not in any of the research conducted so far. <\/p>\n

So why might it be involved in addiction? It\u2019s not yet clear but some research suggests that oxytocin essentially \u201cwires\u201d your lover or child to your reward system, so that it is activated and you feel good when the person is present\u2014 and not so good when he or she is not there or you fear the loss of the relationship. The oxytocin itself isn\u2019t rewarding: it is simply connecting the reward with the memory of the person and the relationship. In the case of addiction, it could instead \u201cwire\u201d the system to the presence or absence of the drug. Increasing oxytocin levels, therefore, might cue the reward system to react the way it does in the presence of the drug, relieving withdrawal. The research was led by Cort Pederson of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. <\/p>\n

Source: healthland.time.com 15th October 2012 <\/em><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Oxytocin is best known for its role in creating social bonds, but it may also forge the chains of addiction. The \u201clove hormone\u201d oxytocin can relieve symptoms of withdrawal in people recovering from alcoholism, according to a small new study. Research has long suggested that oxytocin\u2014 called the \u201clove\u201d or \u201chug\u201d hormone for its role […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,63],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alcohol","category-brain-and-behaviour"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8581\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}