Her er lidt mere om hvordan substitutten skal fungere:
TLC Cooking skrev:
David Nutt from the University of Bristol proposes making an alcohol alternative that contains a GABA-A partial agonist. It would bind to a GABA-A receptor, but only partially activate it, triggering a weaker response. Because a partial agonist takes the place of a true agonist, it blocks the agonist from latching on to the receptor and causing the full effect.
In theory, an alcohol alternative could contain a chemical agent that would bind only to the receptors that affect the positive effects of drinking (relaxation, pleasure), but not to the receptors that affect the negative effects (nausea, memory loss). In other words, if you drink it, you'd still get a "buzz" without having some or all of the harmful effects of alcohol on your body. And when the body breaks down this alcohol alternative, it would not produce acetaldehyde, the toxic substance that leads to hangovers and other ill effects of drinking. And, if people drink too much of this alcohol alternative, they could take the benzodiazepine antidote flumazenil (brand name Annexate), which would instantly help them sober up so they could drive home. Flumazenil is sometimes used in hospital emergency rooms to awaken patients who are unconscious for no apparent reason.
Link:
How Synthehol WorksDet lyder slet ikke som en dårlig idé, men jeg tror at det bliver svært at finde en kombination af partielle GABA-A agonister som efterligner de behagelige effekter af alkohol overbevisende nok til at omvende folk. Og jeg tror også at de lidt "beskidte" effekter fra alkohol, såsom NMDA-antagonisme er en af årsagerne til at det er så populært.
Nutt virker sgu som en fin fyr - det fryder mig en del at følge det massive fallout der har været efter hans fyring, og den fornyede debat om akademisk ytringsfrihed.