Addiction nicotine

Phenomenology of Nicotine Addiction and Clinical Aspects of Withdrawal... 

Covey LS, Classman AH A meta-analysis of double-blind placebo controlled trials of clonidine for smoking cessation. Br J Addict 86 991—998, 1991 Covey LS, Classman AH, Stetner F Naltrexone effects on short-term and long-term smoking cessation.] Addict Dis 18 31 0, 1999 Covey LS, Sullivan MA, Johnston A, et al Advances in non-nicotine pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation. Drugs 39 17-31, 2000 Dani JA, De Biasi M Cellular mechanisms of nicotine addiction. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 70 439 46, 2001... 

George TP, Vessicchio JC Nicotine addiction in schizophrenia. Psychiatric Times 18(2) 39-41, 2001... 

Our current understanding of the potential therapeutic applications of CBi antagonists owes a great deal to the discovery of rimonabant (382). Indeed, clinical data demonstrating the efficacy of (382) in the treatment of obesity and nicotine addiction has provided a substantial driving force for the expanding research effort into this approach. 

US Dept. Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking Nicotine Addiction. A Report of the Surgeon General. DHSS Publ. No. (CDC) 88-8406. Washington, DC Govt. Print. Off., 1988. 

Kozlowski, L. T., Henningfield, J. E., Keenan, R. M., Lei, H., et al., Patterns of alcohol, cigarette, and caffeine and other drug use in two drug abusing populations. Special Issue Towards a broader view of recovery Integrating nicotine addiction and chemical dependency treatments. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 1993 Mar-Apr Vol 10(2), 171-179, 1993. 

Pidoplichko, V.I., Noguchi, J., Areola, O.O. et al. Nicotinic cholinergic synaptic mechanisms in the ventral tegmental area contribute to nicotine addiction. Learn. Mem. 11 60, 2004. 

Feng, Y., Niu, T., Xing, H. et al. A common haplotype of the nicotine acetylcholine receptor a4 subunit gene is associated with vulnerability to nicotine addiction in men. Am. J. Hum. Genet. 75 112, 2004. 

Surgeon General (1988). Nicotine Addiction. US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. 

The pleasure derived from using tobacco is linked to the stimulation of dopamine-dependent neurotransmitter pathways in the brain, particularly in the meso-limbic system. The precise nature of this link remains controversial, but many of the neurophysiological processes underlying nicotine addiction are common to other addictive drugs with diverse pharmacological actions such as opiates, cannabis, alcohol and cocaine. 

Nicotine addiction is very complex and pharmacological evidence alongside structure and function analysis of candidate genes may clarify the mechanisms involved. The challenge will be to translate known genetic variation into therapeutic strategies to reduce the prevalence of smoking in the population. 

Evidence for the Genomic Basis of Nicotine Addiction from Animal Models... 

Similarly opioid peptides are important in nicotine addiction and may have a role in causing nicotine withdrawal symptoms in some smokers [35]. Opioid antagonists such as naltrexone are licensed treatments for dependence syndromes arising from other addictive drugs and could also be of use in some smokers to aid nicotine withdrawal [59] although there is no definitive evidence overall that they are beneficial [60]. 

Biallelic or Multiallelic Markers for Linkage Studies 451 Genome Scans in the Future 452 Evidence for the Genomic Basis of Nicotine Addiction from Animal Models 452... 

Applying Pharmacogenomics to Therapy for Nicotine Addiction 454 Mechanism of Action of Existing Treatments and New Directions for Drug Therapy 454... 

Nicotine is responsible for the highly addictive properties of tobacco products. Addiction occurs in 30% of those who experiment with tobacco products, and more than 80% of those who attempt to quit smoking will relapse within a year. Withdrawal from nicotine produces a syndrome characterized by nicotine craving as well as dysphoria, anxiety, irritability, restlessness and increased appetite. It is treated with nicotine replacement therapies, such as nicotine gum and patches, and/or with buproprion, a drug that is classified as an antidepressant but has multiple and complex effects in brain. Buproprion reduces craving in some smokers. Nicotine addiction has been reviewed recently at cellular and systems levels [38-41]. 

Dani, J. A. and de Biasi, M. Cellular mechanisms of nicotine addiction. Pharm. Biochem. Behav. 70 439-446,2001. 

Picciotto, M. R. and Corrigall, W. A. Neuronal systems underlying behaviors related to nicotine addiction neural circuits and molecular genetics. /. Neurosci. 22 3338-3341, 2002. 

Laviolette, S. R. and van der Kooy, D. The neurobiology of nicotine addiction bridging the gap from molecular to behavior. Nature Rev. Neurosci. 5 55-65,2004. 

Bupropion is another alternative pharmacological approach to tobacco abstinence. It is an antidepressant drug that blocks reuptake of norepinephrine and dopamine, and also blocks nicotinic receptors in the low to intermediate micromolar range (Fryer and Lukas 1999). Thus, the effects of bupropion on nicotine addiction may be through dual effects on dopaminergic and nicotinic systems. Further, it has been an effective treatment in controlled studies, both alone and in combination with the nicotine patch. Bupropion alone or in combination with a nicotine patch was more effective than placebo or the nicotine patch alone. 

Carmody TP. (1989). Affect regulation, nicotine addiction, and smoking cessation. J Psychoactive Drugs. 21(3) 331-42. 

Targovnik JH. (1989). Nicotine, corticotropin, and smoking withdrawal symptoms literature review and implications for successful control of nicotine addiction. Clin Ther. 11(6) 846-53. 

Although that call was almost 25 years in the past, Noch and I remembered it. He was calling, however, as a research partner at Neurobiology Technologies Inc., located north of San Francisco, and wanted to hire me as a consultant. He outlined his belief that a combination of atropine and physostigmine could treat nicotine addiction. The idea did have a superficial theoretical appeal, but I didn t think it would work. Nevertheless, it was hard to turn down the chance to be a paid consultant. 

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