Alcohol use disorders represent an extensive public health problem all
over the world affecting approximately 2 billion alcohol users, causing 1.8 million
deaths (3.2% of total) and 58.3 million (4% of total) of Disability-Adjusted Life
Years (DALYs) worldwide as reported by the WHO lately. Given the harmful
effects of alcohol on the distressed individuals and society as a whole, there is an
increasing urge for the development of new, more efficient medications. Although,
investigation of the mechanisms underlying the actions of ethanol in the central
nervous system has been ongoing for more than a century, the exact mechanism by
which ethanol exerts its effects is still a matter of debate. In recent years, scientists
discovered evidence that alcohol acts on several neurotransmitter systems in the
brain to create its seducing effects. Besides altering the release of neurotransmitters
like dopamine, ethanol alters the function of a number of neurotransmitter
receptors as well as transporters. When ethanol is used for longer period of time,
changes in these specific neurotransmitter functions occur possibly underlying the
development of alcohol dependence. Therefore, modulators of these targets of
ethanol can be useful pharmacotherapeutic agents in the treatment for alcohol
dependence. The aim of this chapter is to summarize the recent patent background
of these potential candidates clustering them according to their mechanism of
effects.
Keywords: Alcoholism, pharmacotherapy, patent, neurotransmitter, receptor, dopamine,
opiate, serotonin, acetylcholine, GABA, glutamate, cannabinoid, corticotropin releasing
factor
