Monday, May 14, 2012

Naltrexone May Help Alcohol-Dependent Smokers

Cigarette smoking predicts more severe alcohol dependence and poorer addiction treatment response. Yet a medication used to treat alcohol dependence—naltrexone—might benefit alcohol-dependent individuals who smoke, a study published online April 30 in Biological Psychiatry suggests.

The study cohort included some 1,400 alcohol-dependent individuals, more than half of whom also smoked. At the end of the 16-week trial, alcohol-dependent subjects who smoked and who received naltrexone had better outcomes than alcohol-dependent subjects who smoked and who received a placebo. Alcohol-dependent, nonsmoking subjects who received naltrexone did not have better outcomes than alcohol-dependent, nonsmoking subjects who got a placebo.

In yet another study, the addition of gabapentin to naltrexone improved drinking outcomes over naltrexone alone in 150 alcohol-dependent subjects. For more information about this study, see Psychiatric News .

(image: grynold/Shutterstock.com)



Disclaimer

The content of Psychiatric News does not necessarily reflect the views of APA or the editors. Unless so stated, neither Psychiatric News nor APA guarantees, warrants, or endorses information or advertising in this newspaper. Clinical opinions are not peer reviewed and thus should be independently verified.