New drug cocktail cures coke addiction in lab rats

Individuals looking to kick an addiction to cocaine may eventually be able to buy a pair of drugs through outlets like Canadian and international online pharmacies which could free them of their dependency.

Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute found that after encouraging a group of lab rats to develop cocaine habits, the rats lost interest in the drug after being treated with a combination of the opioid receptor antagonist naltrexone and buprenorphine, a semi-synthetic opioid.

"Combining drugs with multiple actions may be a useful approach that has not been utilized extensively," said chair of Scripps Research Committee, George Koob.

His associate and the study's co-author Leandro F. Vendruscolo added that "these findings potentially represent a huge bridge from basic research to the establishment of a new and effective medication for cocaine addiction."

According to a statement from the scientists, buprenorphine has sometimes been used to treat heroin addiction and simultaneous addictions to cocaine and heroin. However, the semi-synthetic opioid is also habit forming, and could cause a whole new type of addiction for people hooked on cocaine, a stimulant. However, when cocaine-dependent rats were given buprenorphine with small amounts of naltrexone, a drug for alcohol and nicotine addition, they did not exhibit the withdrawal symptoms shown by rats who had been given buprenorphine alone.

If the treatment is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which has already given a go-ahead for naltrexone, it would be the first treatment the FDA has ever green-lighted for cocaine addiction.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), although cocaine continues to be a serious problem in the U.S., it's not as prevalent as it once was. The overall percentage of Americans using cocaine has dropped steadily every year since 2005, when one percent of the U.S. population were cocaine users.