Is it possible that overeating and indulging in the intoxication of alcohol could be blamed on a hormone? According to a recent study published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the hormone gherlin may be responsible for the overindulgence in alcohol.
The study included trials on mice who were injected with gherlin, a hormone known to promote appetite and food intake. The mice receiving the injections were more likely to choose alcohol over water when presented with the two choices.
At the same time, the group of mice that were injected with a gherlin antagonist and the mice in the control group which had their gherlin receptors removed were both resistant to the alcohol.
This study is important in the quest to improve treatment for those with alcoholism. If scientists can develop a way to block the physical desire for the alcohol through a reduction in gherlin production without any adverse effects on the human body, alcoholism may be more treatable. Such an accomplishment could also provide treatments for food addictions and other drug addictions as well.
The number of studies increasing in the field of physiological dependence on drugs and alcohol offer promise for better treatment. These studies can be useful and beneficial for the scientific community. At the same time, there is still a significant need for a greater focus on the psychological and social dependence that drugs and alcohol create.
It can be challenging for a person without an addiction to understand the physiological and psychological pull that drugs and alcohol can have on a person. If treatments can be developed that address both sides of the addiction coin, recovery and continued abstinence are much more likely.
