title: Efficacy and tolerability of baclofen in substance use disorders: a systematic review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It has been reported that baclofen, a drug used in the treatment of spasticity, reduces the severity of withdrawal symptoms and substance use disorders (SUDs) for some psychoactive drugs.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of baclofen in the treatment of withdrawal syndrome and/or SUDs, providing (1) an outline of its pharmacological features; (2) a summary of studies that have suggested its possible effectiveness in the treatment of SUDs, and (3) a review of randomized, controlled trials (RCTs) on baclofen and SUDs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Baclofen tolerability is generally considered to be good. Eleven RCTs investigated its effectiveness in the treatment of SUDs. Of these, 5 RCTs found that baclofen is effective, 5 RCTs found that it is ineffective and the results of 1 RCT were not appreciable because it did not achieve the preplanned level of participation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The number of RCTs on baclofen and SUDs is still low, and their results are divergent. Further RCTs should be undertaken, particularly with higher doses of baclofen. Its administration may be suggested in patients who fail to respond to other approved drugs or who are affected by liver disease that prevents their administration, or in patients affected by SUDs for which no approved drugs are available. Treatment should be conducted under strict medical supervision.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, Section of Neuroscience, Clinical Pharmacology, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Agabio
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Preti
authors.forename: Gian Luigi
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Gessa
mesh_terms: D001418:Baclofen / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D058786:GABA-B Receptor Agonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D058786:GABA-B Receptor Agonists; D001418:Baclofen