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. 2015 Jan;20(1):38-42.
doi: 10.1111/adb.12106. Epub 2013 Nov 11.

Ibudilast reduces alcohol drinking in multiple animal models of alcohol dependence

Richard L Bell  1 , Marcelo F Lopez, Changhai Cui, Mark Egli, Kirk W Johnson, Kelle M Franklin, Howard C Becker
Affiliations

Ibudilast reduces alcohol drinking in multiple animal models of alcohol dependence

Richard L Bell et al. Addict Biol. 2015 Jan.

Abstract

Neuroinflammatory signaling pathways in the central nervous system are of current interest as potential pharmacotherapy targets for alcohol dependence. In this study, we examined the ability of ibudilast, a non-selective phosphodiesterase inhibitor, to reduce alcohol drinking and relapse in alcohol-preferring P rats, high-alcohol drinking HAD1 rats, and in mice made dependent on alcohol through cycles of alcohol vapor exposure. When administered twice daily, ibudilast reduced alcohol drinking in rats by approximately 50% and reduced drinking by alcohol-dependent mice at doses which had no effect in non-dependent mice. These findings support the viability of ibudilast as a possible treatment for alcohol dependence.

Keywords: AV-411; Alcohol; MN-166; alcohol dependence; alcohol preference; alcoholism; ethanol; ibudilast; neuroimmune; phosphodiesterase.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mean ethanol intake for P (upper panels) and HAD1 (lower panels) rats during the maintenance (left side of panel) and relapse (right side of panel) test-phases. * indicates the respective dose differed significantly from vehicle (p< 0.05). Grey bar indicates vehicle value.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mean ethanol intake for Chronic Intermittent Ethanol (EtOH) exposed mice and control (CTL) mice during Test Cycles 7, 8, 9. For comparison purposes, the horizontal dashed line indicates the mean ethanol intake by vehicle-treated CTL mice during test cycle 7. * indicates significantly less ethanol intake compared to vehicle-treated mice (p< 0.05). # indicates significantly greater intake than CTL group (p< 0.05).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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