The 70 Percent likeness in neurological structure between humans and Zebrafish help researchers study drug addiction

Orange County, CA - September 7th 2017 -   Researchers have discovered that zebrafish share a 70 percent likeness in neurological structure to humans, and with this similarity can exhibit signs of addiction to opioids. This discovery could provide faster testing methods of new therapies with the potential to help affected addicts. A core goal of the study is to treat addiction without requiring the assistance of other opioids. Currently, the preferred method of treatment involves siphoning off the use of one drug, such as heroin, and replacing it with a less detrimental drug, such as methadone, hoping to taper off the addiction and eventually cease use.

There is still a compelling need for therapies that work in different ways, not just by replacing one opioid with another,” Randall Peterson, dean of the College of Pharmacy at the University of Utah, told National Geographic.

In the study, scientists put the zebrafish in a tank containing 2 platforms, one white and one yellow. When the fish swam over the yellow platform their motion triggered a sensor to release food into the water. Once the fish learned the mechanics of the sensor, researchers replaced the food with hydrocodone, more commonly known as Vicodin. The water in the tank was routinely flushed and cleaned, so the fish needed to continually trigger the sensor to receive successive doses. The fish were placed in the tank for 50 minutes each day for a period of five days. During each session, it was recorded that various fish visited the opioid platform nearly 2,000 times.

The 70 Percent likeness in neurological structure between humans and Zebrafish help researchers study drug addiction

The fish soon became addicted to the point of seeking out the drug even after researchers made it dangerous to do so. The yellow platform was moved closer to the water’s surface, making the water over the platform very shallow- a condition zebrafish naturally avoid in open fresh water. However, the fish continued to visit the platform and exhibited signs of stress and anxiety in the removal of the drug from the tank. With these findings, researchers hope to further study the inner workings of zebrafishes’ molecular pathways and how they relate to human opioid treatments. Zebrafish could prove advantageous as test subjects and help accelerate the testing process due to their abundant breeding habits providing a surplus of test subjects.

"The process of bringing a completely new drug to market can be slow. It can take several years," Peterson says. "One promising alternative is to find a new purpose for an existing drug. This idea … would dramatically reduce the amount of time it would take to get an effective treatment into the hands' of doctors and patients." An estimated 2.6 million people in the United States are addicted to opioids. In 2015 alone, more than 33,000 Americans died by opioid overdose ranging from prescription pain relievers to heroin, according to the American Society of Addiction Medicine.

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The 70 Percent likeness in neurological structure between humans and Zebrafish help researchers study drug addiction Orange County, CA – September 7th 2017 –   Researchers have discovered that zebrafish share a 70 percent likeness in neurological structure to humans, and with this similarity can exhibit signs of addiction to opioids. This discovery could provide faster […]