Repurposing Tigecycline for the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder.

Following acamprosate’s FDA approval for treatment of alcohol use disorder (AUD) more than a decade ago, there have been no new medications added to the physician’s therapeutic tool bag. All three FDA approved medications, disulfiram, naltrexone and acamprosate have limited treatment efficacy. Considering the complex nature of AUD, additional medications and investigation into potential biomarkers associated with each treatment is warranted with the hopes of benefiting its diverse array of patients. Although recent clinical trials continue to sketch future therapeutic strategies, many current clinical trials are stagnant as investigations for the above compounds have yet to yield definitive mechanisms of action. Thus, the scientific and medical community must push forward clinical trials by evaluating promising preclinical compounds. In this commentary, we discuss four highly coherent papers from Dr. Susan Bergeson and colleagues, where they investigate the tetracycline derivative tigecycline in reducing alcohol consumption, as well as alcohol induced pain and withdrawal in mice (Fig. 1). Although promising, these comprehensive studies must be validated in preclinical settings for effectiveness in alternative animal models to determine the molecular mechanisms by which these compounds reduce AUD symptomatology, thus facilitating progression of tetracycline derivatives into the clinic.