THE ESSENTIAL
- Women are up to twice as affected as men by anxiety disorders, according to Inserm.
- Disulfiram has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of alcoholism.
21%. This is the proportion of adults who will be affected during their lifetime by anxiety disorders, according to Inserm. These disorders include phobias, agoraphobia, social anxiety or separation disorder, but also generalized anxiety. The latter is characterized by permanent and excessive worry, a persistent feeling of insecurity, restlessness, nervousness, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, muscle tension or sleep disturbances. But from person to person, these symptoms can be different. To manage anxiety and its symptoms, practitioners usually offer psychotherapy and appropriate treatments.
Researchers at the Tokyo University of Science may have found a new way to relieve patients who suffer from anxiety. Disulfiram (DSF), a drug originally used to treat chronic alcoholism, may reduce anxiety, they say. So far, they have not observed any side effects. Their work has been published in the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology.
Disulfiram inhibits the action of a protein called “FROUNT”
To achieve their results, the scientists conducted their experiments on mice. On them, they therefore tested disulfiram, the main role of which is to inhibit the action of the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). It is a hepatic protein responsible for the metabolism of alcohol. However, recent studies have shown that DSF also inhibits a protein called “FROUNT”, which controls the direction of migration of certain immune cells. This is why the researchers conducted this study.
Thus, the drug taken by the patients would also prevent the “FROUNT” protein from interacting with two receptors called CCR2 and CCR5. This action is however very important for the proper functioning of the immune system and, in rodents, in the regulation of emotional behavior. This link between FROUNT and these receptors had already been proven by previous work, but not the exact association with the DSF. An unknown that scientists have just lifted.
“The potential to become a revolutionary psychotropic treatment”
“These results indicate that DSF can be used safely by elderly patients with anxiety and insomnia. This drug has the potential to become a breakthrough psychotropic treatment,” assured Akiyoshi Saitoh, one of the authors of the study. And this, especially since scientists have not observed any side effects in rodents. “We now want to better identify how DSF works. As well as the exact role of the FROUNT molecule in the central nervous system,” he continued.
