The Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI)Pre-clinical and Clinical Evidence for Suppression of Alcohol Intake by Apremilast

PDE4 is linked to alcohol and nicotine addiction, so the researchers prioritized apremilast, a newer PDE4 inhibitor for psoriasis, as ideal for repurposing and tested it in multiple animal strains and models, as well as a human Phase IIa study. In mouse models of genetic risk for drinking to intoxication, they discovered that apremilast reduced binge-like alcohol intake and behavioral measures of alcohol motivation.