Brittney Browning
Medical University of South Carolina, SC·Medicine & Clinical Research·Early-career
Alcohol use disorder is most common in young adulthood, a time when the brain, the immune system and the community of microbes living in the body are all still developing. Heavy drinking appears to disturb all three of these systems at once, and those disturbances may help explain why the disorder starts and persists.
- Fields
Medicine & Clinical Research
Microbiology & Immunology
Psychology
- Topics
alcohol use disorder
oleoylethanolamide
endocannabinoid system
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jul 2031
What they work on
- Test whether six weeks of 125 mg/day oleoylethanolamide (OEA), an endocannabinoid-like lipid, lowers peripheral inflammation markers IL-6, TNF-alpha, IL-1beta and the bacterial molecule LPS in young adults with alcohol use disorder.
- Determine whether OEA supplementation changes oral microbiome composition in 18-25-year-olds with alcohol use disorder, in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 42 participants.
- Assess whether OEA alters neurocognitive function related to reward processing and impulsivity, using cognitive assessments suited to young people.
- Evaluate effects of OEA on alcohol use outcomes measured by both self-report and biological drinking markers, and identify objective indicators of treatment response for future trials.
More about the research
Yet few treatments are designed for this age group or aimed at these linked biological changes. This project tests a candidate that may act on several of them together.
Why it matters
Alcohol use disorder peaks in young adulthood, yet few treatments are tailored to this developmental stage. By testing whether a naturally occurring lipid supplement can calm inflammation, shift the microbiome and change reward and impulse-related brain function while reducing drinking, this pilot trial could provide the foundation for larger trials and for treatments that address several alcohol-affected body systems at once in a high-risk group.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Renee Martin-Willett
University of Colorado Boulder, CO·Psychology·Early-career
Test whether cannabidiol (CBD), a non-intoxicating cannabis compound, improves sleep in adults who report heavy drinking, using a randomized placebo-controlled trial.
Chad Brummett
University of Michigan, MI·Medicine & Clinical Research
Test whether cannabidiol (CBD, as the FDA-approved drug Epidiolex) taken around surgery reduces opioid use in the 4 weeks after total knee arthroplasty, in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 380 patients.
Merideth A. Addicott
Wake Forest University, NC·Neuroscience
Compare gray matter volume, white matter integrity, cerebral blood flow and cognitive performance among ex-smokers who quit, ex-smokers who switched to e-cigarettes, current smokers and never-smokers.
The school
Medical University of South Carolina: 19 labs on PI Pages, $321M a year on research, 271 research doctorates a year.
Reach out
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