Evaluation of the 5-HT2C agonist lorcaserin as potential treatment for cocaine ab

描述(申请人提供)：滥用药物的积极强化特性被认为是由于中脑边缘多巴胺(DA)系统活性增强所致。除了用经典的和非典型的抗精神病药物直接阻断DA的传递外，另一种降低中枢DA活性的方法是通过刺激5-HT2C受体。本提案中描述的研究将评估一种这样的5-HT2C激动剂氯酪蛋白，它在其他适应症的临床开发中已经很先进，用于减轻恒河猴与可卡因滥用相关的行为。在这种非人类灵长类动物(NHP)中获得的数据应该比来自啮齿动物的数据更好地预测人类的临床效果。目的是确定NHP的数据是否会对氯卡色林用于治疗人类可卡因滥用的临床测试提供鼓励。这些实验将评估氯卡瑟林在减轻可卡因引起的多动方面的作用；可卡因在药物识别过程中维持自我给药行为和可卡因的内部刺激特性。为了证明氯酪蛋白可以用于治疗人类的可卡因滥用，这些实验应该表明氯酪蛋白在NHP中有效地减轻与可卡因滥用相关的行为，剂量对行为没有内在影响。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The positive reinforcing properties of drugs of abuse are thought to result from enhanced activity in meso-limbic dopamine (DA) systems. In addition to direct blockade of DA transmission by classical and atypical antipsychotics, an alternative approach to diminishing central DA activity is via stimulation of serotonin 5-HT2C receptors. The research described in the present proposal will evaluate one such 5-HT2C agonist lorcaserin, already well advanced in clinical development in other indications, for its attenuation of cocaine abuse-related behavior in the rhesus monkey. Data obtained in this non-human primate (NHP) should better predict clinical effects in humans than data from rodents. The aim is to determine whether the NHP data would provide encouragement, or not, for the clinical testing of lorcaserin for treating cocaine abuse in humans. The experiments will evaluate lorcaserin for attenuation of cocaine-induced hyperactivity; cocaine maintained self-administration behavior and the internal stimulus properties of cocaine in a drug discrimination procedure. To demonstrate that lorcaserin could be useful for treating cocaine abuse in humans, these experiments should show that lorcaserin is effective in attenuating cocaine abuse- related behavior in NHP at doses without intrinsic effects on behavior.