Study found that drug prevented alcohol from impairing mice

Heavy alcohol consumption, drunkenness and head-splitting hangovers often come as a packaged deal, but scientists are working on a “sober pill” intended to keep the drunk away, according to an ABC NEWS report.

A study published in the British Journal of Pharmacology shows that the drug is promising, but the tests have only been conducted on mice.

Some of the mice were treated with the drug, naloxone, before alcohol consumption and others were not.

If naloxone sounds familiar, it’s because it is the same drug approved to treat heroin overdoses in humans, however this form of naloxone is slightly different.

To get the mice sloshed, scientists had to inject liquor into their systems with needles.

The mice that were treated with the drug had no signs of impaired motor skills. The other mice, in contrast, suffered from alcohol’s typical ill effects.

It may take quite some time before a pill is created for human consumption, but Susan Weiss of the National Institute of Drug Abuse says the report “shows promise for a new molecular target” regarding sobriety drugs.