A hormone shot helps mice sober up

The molecule spurs neurons in the brain that produce a chemical that stirs alertness

As late-night revelers know all too well, having a few too many alcoholic drinks makes people uncoordinated and unalert, putting them at risk of making bad decisions. For years, researchers have sought some way to counteract the effects of alcohol intoxication on a molecular level. Now, they may have found it—at least in mice. Scientists found that giving mice a shot of a hormone called FGF21, which both mice and humans naturally produce in their livers in response to alcohol, helped mice recover from a drunken stupor, New Scientist reports.

Researchers gave mice a dose of ethanol that essentially got them drunk, making the animals clumsy and unsteady. When the rodents were placed on their backs, for example, they struggled to get back on their feet. But drunk mice that got a shot of FGF21 quickly regained their coordination and sobered up faster than their still inebriated counterparts. Next, the researchers learned that the hormone influenced a group of neurons in the brain that express a chemical neurotransmitter called noradrenaline. In humans, a dose of noradrenaline jolts people awake. If FGF21 works in a similar way in humans, researchers say, it may help scientists develop a drug that bumps up levels of this liver-derived hormone and stimulates the brain to pump out noradrenaline, which could potentially be used to treat alcohol poisoning.

Извор: www.science.org