Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC 3021, Australia.
Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cells Program, Australian Institute of Musculoskeletal Science (AIMSS), Melbourne, VIC 3021, Australia.
Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Feb 1;24(3):2737. doi: 10.3390/ijms24032737.
Addiction, the continuous misuse of addictive material, causes long-term dysfunction in the neurological system. It substantially affects the control strength of reward, memory, and motivation. Addictive substances (alcohol, marijuana, caffeine, heroin, methamphetamine (METH), and nicotine) are highly active central nervous stimulants. Addiction leads to severe health issues, including cardiovascular diseases, serious infections, and pulmonary/dental diseases. Drug dependence may result in unfavorable cognitive impairments that can continue during abstinence and negatively influence recovery performance. Although addiction is a critical global health challenge with numerous consequences and complications, currently, there are no efficient options for treating drug addiction, particularly METH. Currently, novel treatment approaches such as psychological contingency management, cognitive behavioral therapy, and motivational enhancement strategies are of great interest. Herein, we evaluate the devastating impacts of different addictive substances/drugs on users' mental health and the role of tryptophan in alleviating unfavorable side effects. The tryptophan metabolites in the mammalian brain and their potential to treat compulsive abuse of addictive substances are investigated by assessing the functional effects of addictive substances on tryptophan. Future perspectives on developing promising modalities to treat addiction and the role of tryptophan and its metabolites to alleviate drug dependency are discussed.
成瘾，即对成瘾物质的持续滥用，会导致神经系统的长期功能障碍。它极大地影响了奖励、记忆和动机的控制强度。成瘾物质（酒精、大麻、咖啡因、海洛因、冰毒和尼古丁）是高度活跃的中枢神经系统兴奋剂。成瘾会导致严重的健康问题，包括心血管疾病、严重感染和肺部/牙科疾病。药物依赖可能导致不良的认知障碍，这种障碍在戒断期间会持续存在，并对康复表现产生负面影响。尽管成瘾是一个具有重大全球健康影响的挑战，存在众多后果和并发症，但目前尚无有效的治疗药物成瘾的方法，尤其是冰毒。目前，心理条件性管理、认知行为疗法和动机增强策略等新型治疗方法引起了极大的兴趣。在此，我们评估了不同成瘾物质/药物对使用者心理健康的破坏性影响，以及色氨酸在减轻不良副作用方面的作用。通过评估成瘾物质对色氨酸的功能影响，研究了哺乳动物大脑中的色氨酸代谢物及其治疗强迫性滥用成瘾物质的潜力。讨论了开发有前途的治疗成瘾方法的未来展望，以及色氨酸及其代谢物减轻药物依赖的作用。
