Alcohol addiction ruins millions of lives every year, but scientists may have found a cure for this terrible affliction. A new treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD) has been trialled in monkeys with impressive results and, if these translate to human trials, the impact could be monumental. A team of neuroscientists and physiologists from across the US tested a new type of gene therapy to see if they could directly target the underlying brain circuitry associated with sustained heavy drinking. As they noted, in the journal Nature Medicine, people suffering from AUD commonly return to alcohol use even if they attempt to quit. This is largely to do with what’s known as mesolimbic dopamine (DA) signalling – meaning how the central nervous system circuit communicates the feelgood neurotransmitter dopamine. A protein called glial-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is key to keeping these neurons in this reward circuitry functioning. However, experts have found that levels of GDNF are reduced in people with AUD during periods of alcohol abstinence, most notably in a region of the brain called the ventral tegmental area (VTA), as IFLScience notes. Therefore, the researchers decided to test whether using gene therapy to deliver more GDNF to the VTA could help reinforce this crucial dopaminergic signalling and prevent patients from suffering an alcoholic relapse. The team of scientists explained how alcohol consumption in non-addicts prompts the release of dopamine, creating a pleasurable buzz feeling, but chronic alcohol use causes the brain to adapt and stop releasing so much dopamine. “So when people are addicted to alcohol, they don’t really feel more pleasure in drinking,” Dr Kathleen Grant, a senior co-author of the study, said in a statement. “It seems that they’re drinking more because they feel a need to maintain an intoxicated state.” For their research, Dr Grant and her colleagues used eight rhesus macaque monkeys, who were exposed to increasing concentrations of alcohol over four 30-day “induction” periods. The monkeys then had free access to alcohol and water for 21 hours a day for six months, during which they developed heavy drinking behaviours. This was then followed by a 12-week abstinence phase, with the GDNF treatment performed four weeks in for half of the subjects. The gene therapy was delivered using a a viral vector containing a copy of the human GDNF gene injected directly into the primate’s VTA, according to IFLScience. And the results were truly jaw-dropping. “Drinking went down to almost zero,” Dr Grant said. “For months on end, these animals would choose to drink water and just avoid drinking alcohol altogether. They decreased their drinking to the point that it was so low we didn’t record a blood-alcohol level.” The most exciting aspect of their findings is the suggestion that gene therapy could offer a permanent solution for people with the most severe cases of AUD. This will be a welcome glimmer of hope to many, given that some 29.5 million people were diagnosed with AUD in the US alone in 2021, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Of these 29.5 million sufferers, almost a million (894,000) were aged between 12 and 17. It’ll likely be some time before we know for sure whether the gene therapy can be rolled out in humans, but it’s an important first step in tackling this devastating disorder. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Microsoft has been given a non-voting observer seat on OpenAI’s board, following the official return of Sam Altman as the ChatGPT company’s chief. OpenAI reached a deal to have Mr Altman back as the company’s chief executive, just days after it abruptly fired him. Mr Altman said he was looking forward to returning to OpenAI with the support of Microsoft chief Satya Nadella. “Sam Altman is back as CEO, Mira Murati as CTO and Greg Brockman as President. OpenAI has a new initial board,” OpenAI posted on Thursday on X. “I have never been more excited about the future. I am extremely grateful for everyone’s hard work in an unclear and unprecedented situation, and I believe our resilience and spirit set us apart in the industry,” Mr Altman said in a memo to employees. The addition of Microsoft, which has heavily invested in OpenAI, to its board as a non-voting observer means the software giant will get more access to view the company’s progress. It will, however, not have an official vote on its decisions. Mr Altman’s return also resolves some of the uncertainties around the non-profit company and its leadership. “The best interests of the company and the mission always come first. It is clear that there were real misunderstandings between me and members of the board,” the returning chief said in his memo. “For my part, it is incredibly important to learn from this experience and apply those learnings as we move forward as a company,” he said. “I welcome the board’s independent review of all recent events.” With three of the board members who ousted Mr Altman now gone, the company said its new board will consist of former Salesforce co-chief Bret Taylor, who will be OpenAI chairman, former treasury secretary Larry Summers and Quora boss Adam D’Angelo. OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, who voted to remove Mr Altman and later changed position to push for his return, will also exit the board, the company said. Greg Brockman, who quit the company amid the chaos last week, is returning to his previous role as the company’s president, OpenAI said. “Our research roadmap is clear; this was a wonderfully focusing time. I share the excitement you all feel; we will turn this crisis into an opportunity,” Mr Altman told employees. Read More Inside OpenAI’s bizarre boardroom battle with the man ‘who can see the future’ Microsoft stock just hit an all-time high amid OpenAI chaos Microsoft chief hints Sam Altman may return as OpenAI staff demand board resignation OpenAI staff ‘threaten to quit over ousting of Sam Altman’ Microsoft’s new AI tool cleans up messy backgrounds in video calls Nasa has received a signal from 10 million miles away

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