PPAR agonists with fewer side effects are being sought, and PPARα agonists are widely used and better tolerated than PPARγ agonists (Cheatham, 2010; Mandrekar-Colucci et al., 2013). The clinical usefulness of α agonists, together with our findings demonstrating the ability of fenofibrate to reduce alcohol consumption in mice and the human genomic link between PPARA and withdrawal, highlight a potential role for PPARα agonists in treating alcoholism. Given that there are only three FDA-approved drugs for AD (disulfiram, naltrexone, and acamprosate) with limited efficacy, improved targets for medication development remain a primary goal of alcohol research. Although research has typically focused on traditional sites involved in synaptic transmission, evidence suggests that PPAR and other signaling pathways in brain may be unexplored targets for medication development to reduce excessive alcohol consumption and prevent relapse.
