Katharina Buczek
It has long been known that anticipatory anxiety is fueled by fear or worry about what may happen in the future. Sufferers may feel tense or jumpy and experience tremors, sweating, twitching, and more.
And even though most people have experienced a bit of uncertainty-linked anxiety from time to time, this sensitivity actually can actually manifest as chronic anticipatory anxiety in some people. Moreover, others turn to alcohol in hopes of curbing their nerves.
So, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center has since partnered with the College of Medicine to conduct a study aimed at finding a new anticipatory anxiety control method that can potentially reduce stress-related alcohol abuse.
However, the researchers hoped to go in a different direction than the drugs currently on the market.
“Medications now exist to treat anxiety and alcohol use disorders, but they are only modestly effective and do not work for everyone,” explained Stephanie M. Gorka, the study’s lead author.
“There is an urgent need for new and more effective pharmacotherapies for these often-linked conditions.”
In turn, the team turned their focus to the human orexin system. Orexins are peptides, or small molecules, that are produced in the hypothalamus and help regulate various processes, including arousal, energy metabolism, wakefulness, and stress reactions.
So, with the help of twenty-one healthy volunteers, the researchers administered either a placebo or a drug known as Suvorexant– an FDA-approved medication often used for insomnia.
The team wanted to ascertain if, by antagonizing the orexin system, anticipatory anxiety objective markers would be reduced.
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