Role of drug therapies in the treatment of alcoholism: alcohol and anxiety--alcohol and depression.
Drug therapies are often used in therapeutic programs for alcoholics. This paper focuses on the use of psychotropic agents which can be used at different stages in the alcoholic disease process. It does not cover specific drug therapies for alcoholism (aversion, chemical restraint, dissuasion), nor nonspecific drug therapies (vitamins, magnesium) the interest and limits of which are well known. All types of psychotropic drugs, antianxiety drugs, antidepressants, thymoregulators, neuroleptics, and beta-blockers are used, with two main indications: (a) to prevent or to treat the withdrawal syndrome and (b) to diminish the psychopathological factors related to alcoholism (anxiety or depression, for example), in order to avoid pathological recourse to alcohol. Recently, attempts have been made to decrease the craving for alcohol in humans after detoxification. Although psychotropic drugs are often used in the management of alcoholics, such management is not limited to them, but also includes psychotherapy and social measures.
D000437:Alcoholism / Q000188:drug therapy*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans