Undoing Addiction In The Brain's Reward Sector
Chemical & Engineering News January 24, 2005 Sophie Rovner
Ibogaine, an alkaloid from a West African shrub, reduces cravings for alcohol and other drugs in animal tests and anecdotal human reports. Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, confirmed these findings in rodents and showed ibogaine interacts with the brain's reward circuits. The compound, which has hallucinogenic and neurotoxic side effects, is not FDA-approved but is used by some clinicians outside the U.S. to limit withdrawal symptoms and craving. The researchers confirmed that ibogaine reduces ethanol consumption in rats and limits relapse effects after alcohol withdrawal.