UVa study testing drug that may help curb binge drinking

By Aaron Lee
Media General News Service
Published: November 5, 2008

Researchers at the University of Virginia are beginning to test a medication they say may treat college-age adults who are genetically predisposed to binge drinking.

In the past, UVa professor Bankole Johnson has conducted a similar study among people in their 40s who have drinking problems, but he said getting to people earlier could save years of struggle.

“They don’t have to be dependent on alcohol, just concerned about their drinking,” Johnson said about the people 18 to 25 years old whom the study is fielding.

He said that most people who struggle with alcohol addiction throughout their lives began drinking before they were 21 years old. He added that surveys have shown 10 percent to 15 percent of college students binge drink.

Binge drinking among men is defined by five or more drinks in a day; among women, it’s four drinks.

Researchers hope to test a group of 300 to see how a drug called Zofran compares with using a placebo to treat people with a certain genetic makeup. Zofran is typically used to prevent nausea and vomiting among surgical patients and people going through chemotherapy.

In a previous study, Johnson found other medications such as Topamax helped people with severe drinking habits. Topamax traditionally is used to treat people suffering from seizures or migraines.

Susan Bruce, director of the Center for Alcohol and Substance Education at UVa, said annual surveys of the university’s undergraduates typically show students who do drink consume between one to three drinks in one sitting.

And when students graduate, the amount they drink, whether they were a heavy drinker or not, generally tends to taper off because they gain more responsibilities, such as jobs, Bruce said.

She sees the upcoming study as a way to reach those whose heavy drinking behavior begins in college and could continue after graduation.

“That will be the challenge in this study, is helping students realize that maybe they should be cutting back,” she said.

The latest study is being funded by a $3.2 million grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The clinical trial is accepting applications now.