Professor explores a “regret pill” to weaken alcohol cravings

Aalto University neuroscience professor Iiro Jääskeläinen says an opioid-blocking drug might reduce the pleasure associated with drinking if taken around the time alcohol is consumed. The idea is based on animal studies and research literature, Yle reported, and has not been tested directly in humans.

In a theoretical review published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Neuroscience, Jääskeläinen suggests that an opioid antagonist could alter how memories of drinking are stored. The memory of drinking would remain, but might no longer carry the pleasurable feeling alcohol produces, making it less compelling.

The drug could potentially be taken before drinking, during a drinking session or up to a couple of hours after the first drink. Memories take several hours to settle into their lasting form, Jääskeläinen said.

He became interested in the idea in the early 1990s, while studying how opioid antagonists affected rats’ desire to drink alcohol. Researchers found that giving the drug after drinking had as strong an effect as giving it beforehand. Jääskeläinen said the role of memory formation was not understood at the time.

Opioid antagonists are already used to treat alcohol dependence. However, medicines currently in use, such as naltrexone, act for a long time and can dampen emotional experiences more broadly. They cannot target only a specific memory, Jääskeläinen said.

He stressed that the proposed approach remains a hypothesis and warned people not to try it on their own. He also noted a risk that drinking could seem easier if its addictive effects could be countered with a pill. A shorter-acting medicine might be developed in the future for people seeking to reduce their alcohol use, he said.

Finland’s Institute for Health and Welfare says risky alcohol use remains common despite a fall in overall consumption. It estimates that about 450,000 people in Finland drink more than the weekly risk limits: over 14 drinks for men and over seven for women.