Taken from: http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/health/2010/02/16/2010-02-16_some_antianxiety_drugs_may_be_addictive_in_the_same_way_as_heroin_scientists_say.html

Full title: "Some anti-anxiety drugs may be addictive in the same way as heroin, scientists say"


Popular anti-anxiety drugs like Valium and Xanax have something in common with heroin and cannabis - alluring and powerful "reward pathways" which can lead users to addiction, scientists say.

According to the Daily Mail, Valium and Xanax, well-known medications in the benzodiazepine class of drugs, boost the action of a neurotransmitter in the brain, which activates the gratification hormone known as dopamine. This is the same "reward pathway" that illegal drugs, such as heroin and cannabis, activate.

Researchers in Switzerland and here in the U.S. say their findings could help scientists develop a new generation of anti-anxiety drugs that would not be addictive. The hope is to come up with similar drugs that bind to a different part of the brain and offer the calming benefit of Valium, but without the addictive side effects. The researchers’ findings appeared in the journal "Nature."

While drug companies have attempted to develop benzodiazepines that aren’t addictive, efforts so far have not been successful.