Treating Cocaine Addiction with Kudzu Extract

Various ways were developed to overcome drug addiction. And a recent study found that an extract of kudzu tree can treat cocaine addiction.

Researchers from Gilead Sciences Inc. found that an extract of kudzu tree that is being developed to treat alcohol addiction were also able to treat cocaine addiction.

Gilead's drug experimentation continued since last year, when this study was purchased from CV Therapeutics Inc..

According to research published in the journal Nature Medicine, showed that this drug can stop the addiction to cocaine use.

"There is no effective treatment for cocaine addiction, although knowledge of the neurobiology of drug addiction is widespread," said Lina Yao, Ivan Diamond and colleagues, a team of researchers from Gilead, as reported by Reuters on Monday (8/23/2010) .

Kudzu is a drug that has long been used to treat alcoholism. This Asian native vine has spread across much of the southeastern U.S., after being imported to tackle soil erosion.

CV Therapeutics made ​​a synthetic extract called selective aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 inhibitor or ALDH2i. This study is named after with CVT-10216.

Based on the tests conducted, it was found that kudzu extract can stop the addiction to cocaine and can even prevent the onset of recurrence after users free of cocaine.

Researchers discover how it works, ie with increasing compound called tetrahydropapaveroline or THP. Cocaine addiction will make the level of a brain chemical called dopamine increases and THP acts to destabilize the increase in dopamine.

"We propose that the drug is safe, selective, reversible ALDH-2 inhibitor such as ALDH2i may have the potential to reduce human cocaine addiction and prevent relapse," wrote the researchers.