Naltrexone treatment of dementia with severe self-injurious behaviors: a single case study.
The results of studies of the opiate antagonist Naltrexone (NLTX) in the treatment of self-injurious behavior (SIB) in various psychiatric populations have been equivocal. The majority of studies has relied on small samples, many of which lacked scientific rigor and none of which occurred in a nursing facility. The present study investigates the use of NLTX on a patient with severe SIB who resides in a nursing facility. The patient is a 38-year-old male with a history of heavy drug and alcohol abuse. He has been in either a state hospital or nursing facility since age 21. The patient overdosed on alcohol and drugs in 1990, which led to a prolonged coma with organic brain damage.
Vance
H B
HB
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, James H. Quillen College of Medicine, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN 37604, USA.
Kauffmann
C
C
Pumariega
A J
AJ
Del Mundo
A
A
D000328:Adult; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009271:Naltrexone / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009292:Narcotic Antagonists / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009735:Nursing Homes; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012919:Social Behavior; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D009292:Narcotic Antagonists; D009271:Naltrexone