In Rats, Weight-Loss Drug Lorcaserin Reduces Opiate Use
The serotonin 5HT-2c agonist drug lorcaserin (Belviq) was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2012 for the treatment of obesity and weight-related conditions (such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, or high cholesterol) in adults. A 2017 article by researcher Harshini Neelakantan and colleagues in the journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience reports that in rats, lorcaserin may also reduce opiate use.
The rats had been self-administering the opiate oxycodone. After receiving lorcaserin, the rats were less likely to consume oxycodone and less likely to seek it out. The rats were also less responsive to cues that had previously led them to consume oxycodone, such as lights or sounds that occurred when oxycodone was available.
Serotonin 5HT-2c receptors both regulate psychostimulant reward in the brain and play a role in reactivity to cues like the lights and sounds the rats associated with oxycodone. Lorcaserin’s effect on these serotonin receptors explains how it could reduce the rats’ drug use.
Clinical trials are expected to examine whether lorcaserin can reduce opiate use in humans in addition to assisting with weight loss.
