Possible Interaction: Ethanol and Vigabatrin

“Of particular interest, although the primary outcome was cocaine dependence, vigabatrin appeared to impact both alcohol and marijuana use.”

“Benzodiazepines, clomethiazole, tiagabine, vigabatrin , pregabalin, gabapentin, acamprosate, naltrexone, GHB, topiramate, ondansetron and baclofen at low dose (≤1 mg/kg, the dose range used in randomized trials in humans: 30 and 60 mg/day) have all been shown to at best reduce motivation to consume alcohol in rats.”

“Because vigabatrin increases GABA‐mediated inhibition in the brain (an action that is believed to account for its anticonvulsant effects), it might be expected to potentiate the CNS effects of benzodiazepines and alcohol.”

“Although not affecting locomotor activity on its own, VGB interacted with ethanol to reduce the stimulatory effects of ethanol on locomotion.”

“Finally, VGB (200 mg/kg) significantly enhanced the discriminative-stimulus effects of ethanol as evidenced by significant leftward and upward shifts in ethanol generalization curves.”

“Higher VGB doses (>200mg/kg) reduced ethanol intake, but also significantly increased water consumption and, more modestly, increased food consumption.”

“The reduction in ethanol intake by VGB appears to be related to the ability of VGB to potentiate the pharmacological effects of ethanol.”

“ VGB dose-dependently reduced operant responding for ethanol and ethanol consumption for long periods of time.”

“We tested the hypothesis that the irreversible &ggr;-amino butyric acid transaminase inhibitor, &ggr;-vinyl &ggr;-amino butyric acid vigabatrin (VGB)], would reduce ethanol reinforcement and enhance the discriminative-stimulus effect of ethanol, effectively reducing ethanol intake.”

“Although no effective medication currently exists for its treatment, racemic γ vinyl‐GABA (R,S‐GVG, vigabatrin) shows enormous potential as it blocks both the neurochemical and behavioral effects of a variety of drugs, including METH, heroin, morphine, ethanol , nicotine, and cocaine.”

“The results of these experiments showed that GVG , at doses of 100, 200 and 300 mg/kg, reduced both ethanol and cocaine consumption in a dose-related manner.”

“When compared to vehicle, GVG at all doses significantly reduced ethanol consumption while consumption of cocaine was significantly reduced only at 300 mg/kg.”