JOURNAL ARTICLE
REVIEW
Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Recent Developments in Pharmacotherapy of Alcoholism.

INTRODUCTION: Alcohol use disorders are common, but only a small minority of patients receive adequate treatment. Cognitive-behavioural therapies, motivational enhancement interviewing and brief interventions are established treatments, but few pharmacotherapies are available.

AREAS COVERED: This narrative focuses on the neurobiological basis of alcohol use disorders and on emerging drugs that either have recently been approved or look likely to find their way into clinical practice. To date, acamprosate and the opioid antagonist naltrexone have been approved for treatment of alcohol dependence. Recently, the mu-opioid antagonist and partial kappa agonist nalmefene was approved by the European Medicines Agency for reduction of alcohol consumption. Novel clinical approaches include drugs established for other indications such as the GABA-B receptor agonist baclofen, anticonvulsants such as topiramate and gabapentin, the partial nicotine receptor agonist varenicline, and other drugs. Developments in pharmacogenetics are discussed.

CONCLUSIONS: The development of pharmaceutical agents to treat alcohol use disorders has lagged behind that of depression and schizophrenic psychosis and is hampered by an incomplete understanding of the neurobiological background. Pharmacogenetics may improve treatment in the future.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app