Preclinical study reveals that niacin alleviates behavioral deficits and neuroinflammation in adolescent rats during ethanol withdrawal, suggesting a potential therapeutic role.
Alcohol withdrawal during adolescence is associated with profound neurobehavioral and neurochemical disturbances. This study investigated the protective effects of niacin in adolescent rats exposed to escalating ethanol concentrations from postnatal day 24 to 60. Niacin (25 or 50 mg/kg, i.p.) was administered once daily throughout the ethanol exposure period. Following ethanol withdrawal, behavioral assessments and biochemical analyses of the prefrontal cortex were conducted. Ethanol withdrawal induced anxiety- and depression-like behaviors, monoaminergic dysfunction, oxidative stress, and neuroinflammation. Niacin significantly improved behavioral outcomes, restored monoamine levels, reduced MAO-A activity, enhanced antioxidant defenses, and attenuated neuroinflammatory responses. These findings suggest that niacin may represent a promising therapeutic strategy for mitigating alcohol withdrawal-induced neurobehavioral and neurochemical impairments.
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Rezayee et al. (2026) studied this question.
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