A new study from Scripps Research has found that a drug already used to treat inflammation might also help people who struggle with both alcohol use and chronic pain.
This drug, called apremilast, is already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for conditions like psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Now, scientists think it may be useful for treating alcohol use disorder (AUD) too.
The study was published on April 22, 2025, in the journal JCI Insight. The researchers discovered that apremilast might reduce both alcohol drinking and pain sensitivity. This is important because many people with alcohol problems also suffer from chronic pain. Pain can make it harder to stay sober, and current treatments don’t always focus on this issue.
According to the World Health Organization, around 400 million people aged 15 and older have AUD. Many of them also deal with a condition called mechanical allodynia. This means that even light touches can feel very painful. This kind of pain can continue even after a person stops drinking, and it may lead people to drink again to try to ease the discomfort.
The research team gave alcohol to two types of rats: one group was naturally prone to heavy drinking, and the other group had standard genetics. Both male and female rats were included. Some rats were treated with apremilast, and others received a placebo.
The results showed that rats treated with apremilast drank less alcohol and felt less pain. These improvements were seen during drinking and for up to four weeks after stopping alcohol.
However, the results were not exactly the same for all rats. The drug seemed to work differently depending on the rat’s sex and genetic background. For example, some male rats didn’t get as much pain relief.
The scientists also looked at how apremilast works in the brain. They found that it boosted a calming brain signal called GABA in a brain area called the central amygdala. This part of the brain is linked to both addiction and pain.
But this calming effect only happened in one of the two rat strains, which again shows that individuals may respond differently to the same treatment.
In both male rat groups, drinking alcohol increased the activity of PDE4 genes. These genes produce an enzyme that apremilast is designed to block. This finding helps explain why the drug might work for both pain and alcohol problems.
Other drugs that block PDE4 have also been tested for pain, but apremilast may be special because it could help with both pain and alcohol addiction at the same time.
So far, this research has only been done in animals, so more studies are needed to see if the same results will happen in humans. The scientists now want to see if apremilast can also help with anxiety and emotional stress, which are common during alcohol withdrawal and can also lead to relapse.
The researchers say that helping people with both physical pain and emotional struggles is key to treating addiction. If future human trials confirm these results, apremilast could become a new treatment that helps people manage both pain and alcohol use, making it easier for them to stay sober.
If you’re interested in learning more, recent studies have shown that moderate drinking can raise blood pressure and that age may affect how alcohol impacts health. People over 40 should also be careful about mixing alcohol with certain medications.
This research was published in JCI Insight and led by Dr. Marisa Roberto and her team at Scripps Research.
If you care about alcoholism, please read studies that your age may decide whether alcohol is good or bad for you, and people over 40 need to prevent dangerous alcohol/drug interactions.
For more information about alcohol, please see recent studies about moderate alcohol drinking linked to high blood pressure, and results showing this drug combo shows promise for treating alcoholism.
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