LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hythiam, Inc. (NASDAQ:HYTM), announced today the presentation of data supporting a mechanism of action underlying the company’s PROMETA Treatment Protocols. Speaking at the 2007 Neurobiology of Addiction Conference taking place in Santa Fe, New Mexico through March 1st, Sheryl Smith Ph.D., a leading researcher in the field of neurosteroids, presented data from her research on methamphetamine dependent rats, describing the methamphetamine induced increase in the a4 subunit of the GABAA receptor and the post-treatment decrease of this pathological marker, which has been associated with states of hyper-excitability and anxiety. This receptor dysregulation and associated symptomatology has previously been associated with alcohol and neurosteroid withdrawal, and suggests a common cause of cravings in substance dependent individuals.
