Apr 17, 2014 06:22 PM EDT By Jaleesa Baulkman, UniversityHerald Reporter

An anti-seizure drug may be able to reduce alcohol consumption, according to a recent study.

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine found that ezogabine could treat alcoholism regulating brain activity known as Kv7 channel modulation. 

Excessive consumption of alcohol is one of the leading causes of illness and death in the United States and has significant negative economic impact by limiting the productivity of workers and necessitating huge health care expenditures, according to a press release.

"This finding is of importance because ezogabine acts by opening a particular type of potassium channel in the brain, called the Kv7 channel, which regulates activity in areas of the brain that are believed to regulate the rewarding effects of alcohol,"  lead author Clifford Knapp said in a statement. "This research indicates that drugs that open Kv7 channels might be of value in the treatment of alcoholism."

Previous studies conducted by Knapp and his colleagues helped to establish the value of anti-seizure drugs as medications to treat alcoholism. However, researchers said further research needs to be conducted to establish that the effects of this drug result primarily from its actions on Kv7 channels.

"Because of the close proximity of the doses at which ezogabine reduces drinking and those at which it is reported to produce motor impairment, it is still important to continue to investigate how selective the actions of ezogabine are on the neuronal mechanisms that control alcohol consumption," Knapp said.

Knapp and colleagues believe their research will encourage the search for other drugs that act on this system to discover more effective treatments for alcoholism.

The findings were recently published in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.

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