Substance use disorder is a chronic medical condition, taking its toll on our public health care and judicial systems in an economically unsustainable way. More than 20 million Americans suffer from substance use disorders.
Typical MRI imaging sessions can last over 45 minutes and depend on the subject remaining still during the procedure for accurate imaging. In particular, animals being imaged, such as rodents (rats) in an awakened state, are not readily compliant with the restricted movement required when being imaged. Current techniques for imaging awake animals focus on training them with full body restraints and head fixation using a bite bar and/or ear bars.
Dopamine is a major neurotransmitter in the central nervous system and among other functions is directly related to the rewarding effects of drugs of abuse. Dopamine signaling is mediated by D1, D2, D3, D4 and D5 receptors. The dopamine D3 receptor is a known target to treat a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders, including substance use disorders (e.g. cocaine and opioid), schizophrenia and depression.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is seeking interested parties to license or co-develop GDNFOS peptides and non-coding RNAs as therapeutic agents for neurodegenerative diseases.
Modafinil has attracted attention for the treatment of cognitive dysfunction in disorders such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as well as cocaine and methamphetamine dependence. However, modafinil has relatively low affinity for binding to the dopamine transporter (DAT) to block dopamine reuptake, and is water-insoluble, thus requiring large doses to achieve pharmacological effects.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse's Medications Discovery Research Branch is seeking statements of capability or interest from parties interested in collaborative research to further develop, evaluate, or commercialize 4-phenylpiperazine derivatives as dopamine D3 selective ligands.