Genes can stop heroin addiction, say scientists

Scientists have discovered two genes that stop the “high” and addiction experienced when taking heroin, paving the way for new treatments to tackle the drug.

The groundbreaking study by New York’s Mount Sinai School of Medicine looked at how a protein known to control the brain’s reward centres changes when it comes into contact with cocaine and morphine – an opiate that is a close relative of the street drug heroin.

Experimenting on mice, they found cocaine caused an increase in the presence of the protein, called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), in a reward centre of the brain called the nucleus accumbens.

But morphine suppresses BDNF in another reward centre of the brain, the ventral tegmental area (VTA) causing a “high” and chronic addiction.

When scientists then injected the mice with BDNF into the VTA they found it inhibited the “high” normally experienced.

When they injected it into the “reward” part of the brain the effect was even more stark – mice experienced no reward or addiction whatsoever.

The study, published in the journal Science, found two genes, sox11 and gadd45g, mediated the brain’s response to morphine, preventing the experience of any reward and addiction.

The discovery paves the way for development of a targeted treatment that uses these specific genes.

Lead researcher Ja Wook Koo said: “While further research is needed, the genes we identified may be useful targets in preventing addiction.”

More than 20,000 people in Scotland are currently being treated for heroin addiction. Users can become hooked on the euphoria they experience after taking the potentially 
lethal drug.