Brain cell damage caused by heavy alcohol consumption could be reversed by new drug

Scientists from Queensland University of Technology (QUT; Brisbane, Australia) have discovered that the drug tandospirone could potentially reverse the deficit in neurogenesis caused by heavy alcohol consumption, according to research published in Scientific Reports. The researchers administered adult mice with a daily dose of tandospirone over the course of 2 weeks, which appeared to reverse the effects of 15 weeks heavy alcohol consumption on neurogenesis. The drug also stopped anxiety behaviors associated with alcohol withdrawal and in turn, significantly decreased the level of binge-like alcohol intake by the mice. Tandospirone acts selectively on 5-HT1A, a type of serotonin receptor, and...