NYU College of Dentistry Awarded NIH Grant to Investigate Endosomal Receptors as Targets for Chronic Pain Treatment

Newswise imageThe NIH has awarded NYU College of Dentistry researchers Nigel Bunnett, PhD, and Brian Schmidt, DDS, MD, PhD, a $3.9 million grant to study targeting endosomal receptors for the treatment of chronic pain. The five-year grant will support Bunnett and Schmidt’s collaborative research, which aims to ultimately yield improved pain management without the need for opioids.

$11.4 million NIH grant advances drug to treat nicotine addiction

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, Camino Pharma, LLC and University of California San Diego School of Medicine have been awarded an $11.4 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to advance a novel drug candidate for nicotine addiction into first-in-human Phase 1 studies. The drug targets a neuronal signaling pathway underlying addictive behaviors, and would be a first-in-class medication to help people quit smoking.

Heavy-drinking Rodents Enhance Understanding of Problematic Alcohol Use Patterns

New study findings in mice suggest that repeated binge drinking increases the motivation to consume alcohol to excess. In humans, the pattern of drinking (as well as quantity consumed) can be an important indicator of future drink problems; in adolescents, for example, a binge-drinking pattern can predict development of alcohol use disorder (AUD). Studies using laboratory animals that have been selectively bred to drink alcohol (ethanol) in large amounts can provide valuable insights on problematic drinking patterns, using experimental approaches that would be impossible or unethical to apply in humans. Indeed, many important findings on responses to alcohol have been gained from animal studies, conducted to strict welfare guidelines. The latest study, reported in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, examined two behaviors in mice that reflect their motivation to experience alcohol’s rewarding effects on the brain.