How Baclofen works in Autism

While benzodiazepines, like Lorezepam, and baclofen both work on GABA receptors, their mechanism of action is quite different. Benzos target the GABA “A” receptor, which is a chloride channel, while baclofen targets the GABA “B” receptor, which is a G-protein coupled receptor and regulates a different set of molecules from GABA “A”. So it’s possible that arbaclofen has a safer tolerability profile in children than benzos because of this reason.

-Michael Gertner, MS
PhD Candidate in Neuroscience
Albert Einstein College of Medicine

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