Naltrexone improves outcome of a controlled drinking program.
Naltrexone is widely used in therapeutic programs with abstinence as a goal. However, it has been used in only a few studies aimed at reducing alcohol consumption. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of naltrexone as an adjunct in controlled drinking programs. This was an open randomized study of 12 weeks duration that compared two therapeutic strategies: use of naltrexone in a controlled drinking program (NTX+CD) and the controlled drinking program alone (CD), without NTX. Each group comprised 30 male patients with mild alcohol dependence. During treatment, there were no differences between groups in drinking behavior, though the NTX+CD group showed significantly less craving. In the 12-month follow-up period, the NTX+CD group showed significantly fewer drinking days and heavy drinking days and less craving than the CD group. The results of this study suggest a role for naltrexone in controlled drinking programs.
Rubio
Gabriel
G
Unidad de Conductas Adictivas, Servicio de Psiquiatria, Pabellon de Medicina Comunitaria, Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Avda de Córdoba s/n,. 28041 Madrid, Spain. garuva@inicia.es
Manzanares
Jorge
J
Lopez-Muñoz
Francisco
F
Alamo
Cecilio
C
Ponce
Guillermo
G
Jimenez-Arriero
Miguel A
MA
Palomo
Tomás
T
D000328:Adult; D000427:Alcohol Deterrents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000628:therapy*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009271:Naltrexone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009292:Narcotic Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000427:Alcohol Deterrents; D009292:Narcotic Antagonists; D009271:Naltrexone