Effect of calcium-channel blockers on alcohol consumption in alcohol-drinking monkeys.
Experiments were performed to determine the effect of the calcium-channel blockers verapamil and diltiazem on ethanol preference in monkeys. Two days of administration of 10 mg/kg verapamil but not diltiazem or saline significantly decreased ethanol intake in all monkeys tested. Chronic treatment with verapamil, but not saline, dose-dependently attenuated alcohol intake, without significantly influencing water intake. These findings suggest that verapamil exerts an inhibitory action on ethanol preference in chronically alcohol-drinking monkeys, possibly by interfering with Ca(2+)-channels and/or by interacting with the activity of certain central neurotransmitters.
Rezvani
A H
AH
Skipper Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, UNC School of Medicine, Chapel Hill 27599.
Grady
D R
DR
Janowsky
D S
DS
D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000503:physiopathology; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D004110:Diltiazem / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D008251:Macaca; D008297:Male; D014700:Verapamil / Q000494:pharmacology*
D015220:Calcium Channels; D014700:Verapamil; D004110:Diltiazem