Pill eases craving.An experimental drug called varenicline helps smokers kick the habit better than does bupropion bupropion /bu·pro·pi·on/ (bu-pro´pe-on) a monocyclic compound structurally similar to amphetamine, used as the hydrochloride salt as an antidepressant and as an aid in smoking cessation. , the only drug currently prescribed pre·scribe v. pre·scribed, pre·scrib·ing, pre·scribes v.tr. 1. To set down as a rule or guide; enjoin. See Synonyms at dictate. 2. To order the use of (a medicine or other treatment). for the task, a U.S.-Norwegian team of researchers finds. In two studies, the researchers gave 2,045 U.S. smokers a placebo, varenicline, or bupropion--marketed as Amfebutamone, Wellbutrin, or Zyban. After 12 weeks, the quit rate was 44 percent for those getting varenicline, 30 percent for the bupropion group, and 18 percent for the placebo group, reports Serena Tonstad, a physician at Ulleval University Hospital in Oslo. Varenicline is administered twice daily in pill form. The drug partially blocks a protein that sits on the surfaces of cells. When nicotine nicotine, C10H14N2, poisonous, pale yellow, oily liquid alkaloid with a pungent odor and an acrid taste. It turns brown on exposure to air. binds to this protein, it triggers release of dopamine dopamine (dōp`əmēn), one of the intermediate substances in the biosynthesis of epinephrine and norepinephrine. See catecholamine. dopamine One of the catecholamines, widely distributed in the central nervous system. , providing the effect that makes nicotine addictive. While varenicline causes the release of some dopamine, "the release is not as much and not as rapid as with smoking," Tonstad says. |
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