# UK researchers test dementia drug for alcohol withdrawal treatment  
**Published:** 2026-05-18T15:48:59.000Z  
**Source:** [University of Kentucky News](https://uknow.uky.edu/research/could-dementia-drug-help-treat-alcohol-withdrawal-uk-researchers-explore-possibility)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://feeds.lexingtonky.news/article/uk-researchers-test-dementia-drug-for-alcohol-withdrawal-treatment

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Researchers at the University of Kentucky's Sanders-Brown Center on Aging are exploring whether a drug originally developed to combat brain inflammation in dementia patients could also help treat the harmful neuroinflammation associated with alcohol withdrawal, potentially opening new treatment pathways for alcohol use disorder.

[The study, recently published in the journal Alcohol,](https://uknow.uky.edu/research/could-dementia-drug-help-treat-alcohol-withdrawal-uk-researchers-explore-possibility) examined the anti-inflammatory effects of an experimental compound called MW150 during alcohol exposure and withdrawal in laboratory models. Researchers found the drug significantly reduced select inflammatory markers, particularly during the withdrawal period.

The work was led by Linda Van Eldik, Ph.D., director of the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging and a nationally recognized expert in neuroinflammation research. Van Eldik's laboratory has spent years developing small-molecule therapeutics targeting inflammation pathways linked to neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease.

"Our findings provide an important early step toward understanding whether compounds like MW150 could be repurposed to address neuroinflammation tied to alcohol withdrawal," said Caleb Bailey, Ph.D., a researcher in Van Eldik's lab and co-author of the study. The research focused on p38α MAPK, a signaling pathway strongly associated with brain inflammation.

Alcohol use disorder remains difficult to treat due to high relapse rates, especially during withdrawal. The new findings are particularly noteworthy because MW150 and a related drug, [Neflamapimod, are already being studied in clinical trials](https://www.neurologylive.com/view/fda-feedback-provides-clarity-phase-3-trial-neflamapimod-dementia-lewy-bodies) for dementia and other neurodegenerative conditions, suggesting these compounds could potentially be repurposed more efficiently if future studies continue to show promise.

Kentucky faces growing public health concerns surrounding alcohol use disorder. [The state has seen alcohol-induced deaths nearly double from 6.6 per 100,000 in 2013 to 14.6 in 2020,](https://bluegrassrecoverycenter.com/free-assessment/alcohol/) with more than 2,700 alcohol-related deaths annually. [Kentucky continues to grapple with high rates of alcohol misuse](https://ariaky.com/kentucky-substance-abuse/) across communities.

The project also marked a significant milestone for McKenna Green, an undergraduate researcher who served as first author on the publication—her first lead-author paper. Green, a recent UK graduate with dual degrees in psychology and public health from the Lewis Honors College, has been accepted into UK's Cognitive Neuroscience Experimental Psychology doctoral program.

Researchers emphasized that much more work remains before the findings could translate into clinical applications. Future studies will evaluate whether MW150 produces similar anti-inflammatory effects in living animal models and whether those effects influence alcohol relapse behaviors. The research was supported by the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health.

## Sources

- [University of Kentucky News](https://uknow.uky.edu/research/could-dementia-drug-help-treat-alcohol-withdrawal-uk-researchers-explore-possibility)
- [Bluegrass Recovery Center - Kentucky alcohol statistics](https://bluegrassrecoverycenter.com/free-assessment/alcohol/)
- [NeurologyLive - Neflamapimod phase 3 clinical trials update](https://www.neurologylive.com/view/fda-feedback-provides-clarity-phase-3-trial-neflamapimod-dementia-lewy-bodies)

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This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from University of Kentucky News, enriched with 3 web searches. The original source is available at https://uknow.uky.edu/research/could-dementia-drug-help-treat-alcohol-withdrawal-uk-researchers-explore-possibility.