Gamma-vinyl GABA decreases voluntary alcohol consumption in alcohol-preferring AA rats.
The effect of a GABA transaminase inhibitor, gamma-vinyl GABA, on the voluntary alcohol consumption of alcohol-preferring AA rats produced by selective breeding for high alcohol preference, was studied. The rats were first trained to voluntarily drink 10% (v/v) ethanol solution until their ethanol consumption stabilized. Gamma-vinyl GABA (100, 200 or 500 mg/kg) was then injected intraperitoneally in three groups of rats, with saline-injected animals serving as a control group. The rats continued to have a free choice between 10% ethanol and plain tap water for five days after the injection, and their ethanol, water and food consumptions were measured daily. Gamma-vinyl GABA decreased ethanol consumption by the rats in a dose-dependent way. The consumption remained significantly decreased for three days in the two groups receiving the highest doses, with only a small concomitant tendency to decreased food intake. The results suggest that an increase in brain GABA concentration decreases alcohol drinking, possibly through potentiation of the pharmacological action of ethanol.
Wegelius
K
K
Biomedical Research Center, Alko Ltd., Helsinki, Finland.
Halonen
T
T
Korpi
E R
ER
D000612:4-Aminobutyrate Transaminase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000614:Aminocaproates / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004326:Drinking / Q000187:drug effects; D004435:Eating / Q000187:drug effects; D000431:Ethanol; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D051381:Rats; D011922:Rats, Mutant Strains; D020888:Vigabatrin
D000614:Aminocaproates; D000431:Ethanol; D000612:4-Aminobutyrate Transaminase; D020888:Vigabatrin