A New Treatment for Alcoholism in Monkeys Could Help Humans Next

Nearly 15 million people in the US alone have an alcohol use disorder, and about 95,000 people die every year from alcohol-related deaths. A new treatment option could emerge in the future based on a hormone called FGF21, which has now been found to suppress alcohol consumption in monkeys. In a peer-reviewed study published in Cell Metabolism, a team of researchers found that a new analogue compound of FGF21 given to alcohol-loving monkeys reduced booze intake by 50 percent. The findings could be used to develop a FGF21-based therapeutic to help treat alcohol use disorder in people.