OHIO — According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 30 million Americans struggle with alcohol use disorder. This is just one reason doctors embarked on a study to address the issue.
What You Need To Know
- Knowledge gained from work on Parkinson’s Disease taught researchers how to regulate the dopaminergic system
- Gene therapy allows the dopaminergic system to be returned back to the way it used to be
- It may take years before the first patient can be treated with gene therapy
Dr. Krystof Bankiewicz, OSU Director of Brain Health and Performance Center and co-corresponding author of the study said that with the dopaminergic system, “We are talking about a pathway in the brain that is very closely linked to addictive behaviors.”
Bankiewicz said gene therapy allows the dopaminergic system to be returned to the way it used to be.
“That’s how the particular therapeutic has been identified by our group and others, as well as something that can fix the dysfunctioning dopaminergic system in people with alcohol use disorder, maybe other addictions as well.”
While this is the first step in looking at how gene therapy can be used for clinical use, he believes other ongoing studies will help with the application for clinical use when it comes to the possibility of getting it approved by the FDA.
“The path is not very simple, and it’s gonna take us many, many years to really treat the first patient,” Bankiewicz said.