Varenicline, which is already sold to help smokers, can also be used in helping heavy drinkers quit, new research indicates. The researchers also say that the tablet can be used to control addictions to everything from gambling to painkillers in future.
The pill, which is manufactured by Pfizer Inc., is already been sold in the U.S. since August under the brand name Chantix. Developed specifically as a stop-smoking aid, the pill works by latching onto the same receptors in the brain that nicotine binds to when inhaled in cigarette smoke.
The above reaction leads to the release of dopamine in the brain's pleasure centers. When an addict is given a pill, Varenicline present in it blocks any inhaled nicotine from reinforcing that effect.
Details of the research that appear this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences also suggest the tablets might be considered as a treatment for many more addictions or in the cure of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
AP reports that New York-based Pfizer is yet to decide on broader FDA approval for the drug. However, several experts still believe that there is no such thing as a magic cure-all for addiction. Also, since Varenicline doesn't appear to work for all smokers, scientists now say it might be same for drinkers.
