Many people think of oxytocin as the ‘love hormone’.
It’s responsible for the natural high
a mother gets from breast feeding.
It’s also the feeling of connection with a loved one.
And now scientists are discovering the potential
of oxytocin to treat addiction and social disorders.
"Oxytocin is what's called a neuropeptide and it's a
type of chemical that's produced naturally in the brains
of all mammals, including humans. And we know that oxytocin
dampens down stress and anxiety, and it also enhances
people's motivation to engage in social behaviour."
Oxytocin is a hormone produced in the part of the brain
called the hypothalamus. It’s then released throughout
the brain and into the bloodstream.
It links social interactions to the brain’s reward system,
promoting bonding and affecting our mood.
"Oxytocin that's released into the bloodstream plays a role in
functions such as stimulating uterine contractions during childbirth.
It controls the milk let-down reflex during breastfeeding.
But what we're really interested in is the oxytocin that's
released in a number of brain regions, that play a critical role
in motivational behaviour, in social behaviour and
in stress and anxiety responses."
Worldwide around 35 million people suffer from opioid,
cocaine, cannabis and amphetamine-type drug use disorders.
But only one in seven receives treatment.
These addictions can cause death, chronic medical conditions
and cost society billions of dollars in health care.
But neuroscientist and psychopharmacologist
Associate Professor Michael Bowen’s research shows that
oxytocin may be able to help moderate addictive behaviours.
"We know that some people can have differences in their
brain oxytocin systems and these differences can make
people more prone to certain types of disorders.
For instance, it can make them more susceptible to
developing addictions in their adulthood."
Over the past decade, Associate Professor Bowen
and his colleagues have developed a compound
with similar effects to oxytocin and have conducted
numerous pre-clinical trials on rodents.
The team’s results showed that the compound has had
anti-addictive effects in animal models of alcohol
and methamphetamine use.
And early evidence suggests it may be effective
for other substances, such as opioids.
"We've also had our results independently replicated
across multiple different labs and all the signs point to
this having great potential."
Addiction has a powerful influence over the brain
and the way it registers pleasure. Alcohol is one of the most
harmful drugs worldwide with more than 100 million
people suffering from alcoholism. It’s also responsible for
around three million deaths a year.
"We know that drugs and alcohol produce euphoria and
trigger surges of dopamine in the brain. So these surges
of dopamine can then lead to cravings and teach the brain
to want more or seek out more of the substance.
And this can then lead to addiction for some people."
Professor Adam Guastella and Dr Kelsie Boulton are also
involved in oxytocin research. They’re currently treating
more than a hundred people with alcohol addiciton
with an oxytocin nasal spray for eight weeks
to see if it reduces cravings.
"The oxytocin provides a great target because it can
potentially reduce the cravings and anxiety, and it can do it
in a way which doesn't require people to stop taking alcohol,
they can take the oxytocin with the alcohol and gradually
reduce their addiction to the alcohol over time."
It sounds like a magic cure, but Associate Professor Bowen
warns there are still some issues that need to be overcome
to unlock the potential of oxytocin.
"It can't be taken orally because it just gets broken down in the gut.
And even when it's administered through other means,
it has a very short half-life, which means it can't act for very long."
Associate Professor Bowen and his colleagues have been
working over the past decade to overcome these hurdles.
Together with the company he co-founded, Kinoxis Therapeutics,
they’re now seeking approval from the US Food and Drug
Administration to go into human trials in 2021.
"When you look across the spectrum of disorders
of the brain and mind, we see this profound dysregulation
of social behaviour from addiction to autism, to dementia,
to depression. We're hopeful that this new drug that
we're developing will provide a desperately-needed
major breakthrough in the way that we treat these disorders."