Although not necessary for treatment of alcoholism, a variety of medications may be prescribed as part of treatment. Some may ease the transition to sobriety, while others cause physical hardship to result from the use of alcohol. In most cases, the desired effect is to have an alcoholic abstain from drinking.
* Antabuse (disulfiram) prevents the elimination of (acetaldehyde), a chemical the body produces when breaking down ethanol. Acetaldehyde itself is the cause of many hang over symptoms from alcohol use. The overall effect is severe discomfort when alcohol is ingested: an extremely fast acting and long lasting uncomfortable hang over. This discourages an alcoholic from drinking in significant amounts while they take the medicine. Heavy drinking while on antabuse can cause severe illness and death.
* Naltrexone is a competitive antagonist for opioid receptors, effectively blocking our ability to use endorphins and opiates. Naltrexone is used in two very different forms of treatment. The first treatment uses naltrexone to decrease cravings for alcohol and encourage abstinence. The other treatment, called pharmacological extinction, combines naltrexone with normal drinking habits in order to reverse the endorphin conditioning that causes alcohol addiction. Naltrexone comes in two forms. Oral naltrexone, originally but no longer available as the brand ReVia, is a pill form and must be taken daily to be effective. Vivitrol is a time-release formulation that is injected in the buttocks once a month.
* Piracetam appears to be effective in treating alcoholism or its symptoms in clinical studies.[18][19][20][21][22][23]. Piracetam appears to reduce levels of lipofuscin in the rat brain. [24] (Lipofuscin accumulation is common symptom of aging and alcoholism).
* Acamprosate (also known as Campral) is thought to stabilize the chemical balance of the brain that would otherwise be disrupted by alcoholism. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved this drug in 2004, saying "While its mechanism of action is not fully understood, Campral is thought to act on the brain pathways related to alcohol abuse...Campral proved superior to placebo in maintaining abstinence for a short period of time...[25]" While effective alone,[26] it is often paired with other medication treatments like naltrexone with great success.[27] Acamprosate reduces glutamate release. The COMBINE study was unable to determine the presence of efficacy for Acamprosate.[28]
* Sodium oxybate is the sodium salt of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB). It is used for both acute alcohol withdrawal and medium to long-term detoxification. This drug enhances GABA neurotransmission and reduces glutamate levels. It is used in Italy in small amounts under the trade name Alcover.
* Baclofen has been shown in animal studies and in small human studies to enhance detoxification.This drug acts as a GABA B receptor agonist and this may be beneficial.
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Alcoholism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
If taking antibuse, one must refrain from ALL forms of alcohol, including over-the-counter medications as well as any alcohol preps used for steralization.
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