Acamprosate appears to decrease alcohol intake in weaned alcoholics.
Five hundred and sixty-nine alcoholics were included in a double-blind placebo-controlled randomized multicenter study of the effects of Acamprosate (calcium acetylhomotaurinate (CA), 1.3 g/day) on indicators of alcoholic relapse after withdrawal. One hundred and eighty-one patients in the CA group versus 175 in the placebo group completed the three-month study. The major efficacy criterion was plasma gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), as an indicator of recent alcohol ingestion. This analysis was completed by criteria concordance analysis on a number of indicators of alcohol intake. Patients in both groups were similar initially. After 3 months of treatment, the patients in the CA group had significantly lower GGT (1.4 +/- 1.56 versus 2.0 +/- 3.19 times normal, P = 0.016). All significant differences (P less than 0.05) or trends (0.10 greater than P greater than 0.05) were in favor of a superior effect of CA over placebo. The major side-effect of CA was diarrhea (present in 13% of CA patients versus 7% of placebo, P = 0.04). CA proved superior to placebo on the evolution of markers of alcohol ingestion at three months, in this large-scale multicenter study. It could be a new modality in the drug therapy of alcoholism, not involving an antabuse effect, an antidepressant action, or conditioning.
Lhuintre
J P
JP
Unité d'Alcoologie, CHRU de Rouen, Hôpital de Boisguillaume, Boisguillaume, France.
Moore
N
N
Tran
G
G
Steru
L
L
Langrenon
S
S
Daoust
M
M
Parot
P
P
Ladure
P
P
Libert
C
C
Boismare
F
F
D000077443:Acamprosate; D000328:Adult; D000427:Alcohol Deterrents; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000430:Alcohol Withdrawal Delirium / Q000534:rehabilitation; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013654:Taurine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*
D000427:Alcohol Deterrents; D013654:Taurine; D000077443:Acamprosate