4 ms·
We already have benzodiazepines, which are a class of drug that fits the description here perfectly: they affect GABA without doing all of the other things that
by carbocation 13y ago
We already have benzodiazepines, which are a class of drug that fits the description here perfectly: they affect GABA without doing all of the other things that alcohol does, and they have an antidote (flumazenil).
Like many drugs, they put you at risk for impaired driving, disinhibited behavior, etc. People use them on the street and they can certainly come in with benzodiazepine withdrawal, which looks pretty much like alcohol withdrawal (both of which can be life-threatening, unlike most other types of withdrawal).
There is little reason to think that a new GABAergic compound would be "safe" by any stretch of the imagination. The proof will have to come in the form of clinical trials.
- shenberg 13y agoAlcohol actually doesn't bind to the same site as benzodiazepines, which is why valium doesn't make you feel drunk. Something that mimics alcohol's binding behavior is in fact new.
- carbocation 13y agoIt is true that alcohol and benzodiazepines (and barbiturates and z-drugs, for that matter) bind to different sites on GABA. While noteworthy pharmacologically, it does not address my comment about the organism-level effects of GABAergic stimulation.
- shenberg 13y ago'course it does - valium doesn't feel like being drunk.
- Nursie 13y agoThere is every reason to think that one of the UK's leading authorities on drug science might have some interesting ideas in this space though.