Novel Therapeutic Strategies for SUD: Beyond Traditional Approaches

Substance Use Disorders (SUD) present a formidable challenge in public health, affecting millions worldwide. The field faces significant gaps in effective pharmacological interventions, particularly for stimulants like cocaine, methamphetamine, and cannabis. Over the past two decades, the approval of new treatments for these substances has been limited, exacerbated by a general disinterest in SUD research. Critical challenges include the safe and effective delivery of treatments through the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and addressing the complex nature of brain regions involved in drug craving and relapse.

This Research Topic aims to advance the development of innovative therapeutic strategies and enhance drug delivery systems for SUD treatment. The focus will be on refining and devising novel treatment methods that improve upon existing therapies and explore new ways to mitigate addiction. The project will work on developing long-acting versions of opioid antagonists, creating modulators for neurotransmitter systems disrupted by substance use, and designing therapies that target and neutralize addictive substances directly. Moreover, we aim to investigate compounds that can modulate synaptic plasticity in order to bring long-term changes in the neural pathways affected by drug use.

To gather further insights into optimizing treatments and delivery mechanisms for SUD, we invite contributions on the following key areas:

- Development and clinical assessment of long-acting opioid antagonists.

- Synthesis and evaluation of new modulators targeting GABAergic, glutamatergic, and dopaminergic systems.

- Design of novel delivery systems that can bypass the BBB and release therapeutic agents directly to target sites.

- Development of monoclonal antibodies for the direct neutralization of addictive substances in the bloodstream.

- Exploration of synaptic plasticity modulators that aim to alter brain circuits for sustained recovery from addiction.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: SUD, Opioid Antagonists, Synaptic Plasticity Modulators, Addiction, Delivery Systems

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.