Hormone aid could help in booze battle
A HORMONE could help people battle booze addiction, scientists found.
Monkeys that had developed a taste for alcohol in labs were given fibroblast growth factor 21 and subsequently reduced their drink intake by 50%.
Experts at the University of Iowa, in the US, found that the hormone targeted a region of the animal’s brain that plays a role in reward and addiction.
Study author Dr Matthew Potthoff said: “Our results provide a mechanism for a liver-to-brain feedback loop that presumably functions to protect the liver from damage.
“The data indicates that [compounds similar to FGF21] may provide a treatment option against alcohol-use disorder.”