Technology Commercialization and Partnerships | BSA 00-34: Treatment for Drug Abuse

BSA 00-34: Treatment for Drug Abuse

BNL Reference Number: BSA 00-34

Patent Status: U.S. Patent Number 6,906,099 was issued on June 14, 2005

Summary

Substance addiction, such as drug abuse, and the resulting addiction-related behaviors create enormous social and economic problems that continue to grow with devastating consequences. Substance addiction can occur by use of legal and illegal substances. There is considerable evidence that drugs addictive liability is linked to a dopamine re-uptake blockade in the central nervous systems (CNS) reward/reinforcement pathways. This invention describes a method for diminishing, inhibiting or eliminating addiction-related behavior of a mammal suffering from addiction to drugs of abuse with topiramate or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of topiramate.

Description

The addictive liability of drugs of abuse, such as for example, cocaine, nicotine, methamphetamine, morphine, heroin, ethanol or other drugs of abuse has been linked to their pharmacological actions on mesotelencephalic dopamine (DA) reinforcement/reward pathways in the central nervous system (CNS). Dopaminergic transmission within these pathways is modulated by gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA). The technology describes the use of pharmaceutical composition that increases central nervous system GABA levels to treat addiction to drugs of abuse. Also provided are methods for diminishing, inhibiting or eliminating addiction-related behavior of a mammal. Topiramate (available as Topomax.RTM.) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of topiramate represent the preferred pharmaceutical composition to treat addiction to drugs of abuse.

Benefits

The described treatment can relieve a patient's craving by changing the pharmacological actions of drugs of abuse in the central nervous system and it can also be used to treat combination drug abuse.