A recent research has revealed that ghrelin, the hormone previously held responsible for making people indulge in over-eating, might also be the key responsible factor in overindulgence as far as alcohol goes.

For the sake of research, laboratory mice were injected with ghrelin, which is a hormone known to drive appetite and food intake, and it was then noticed that these mice started to prefer alcohol over water. On the other hand, two groups of mice, one injected with a "ghrelin antagonist" as well as one whose receptors of the hormone were removed, were resistant to alcohol.

"If scientists can create a way to block the physical desire for alcohol by decreasing the production of ghrelin without any adverse effects on the human body, not only could we be closer to conquering food addictions but alcohol addictions and possibly other drug addictions as well", said professionals at the Mountainside Drug Rehab and Addiction Treatment Center, while commenting on the study.

Details of the study has been published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.