title: Disulfiram implantation: placebo, psychological deterrent, and pharmacological deterrent effects.
abstract: In an effort to examine the placebo, psychological deterrent, and pharmacological deterrent effects associated with implanted disulfiram, subjects were given either disulfiram implants or sham operations. Ethanol challenges elicited no disulfiram-ethanol reactions (DERs), indicating that at the time of the challenge neither a pharmacological deterrent nor a placebo effect was operating. Of the patients who resumed drinking, only those with disulfiram implants experienced DERs. Sham operation subjects continued to drink after their first post-challenge drink; four of five disulfiram implant recidivists remained abstinent following their experience of a DER. It is concluded that the pharmacological deterrent effect of the disulfiram implant may have been underestimated in previous reports.
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004221:Disulfiram / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004343:Drug Implants; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D009042:Motivation; D010919:Placebos; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D004343:Drug Implants; D010919:Placebos; D000431:Ethanol; D004221:Disulfiram