title: Pharmacologic treatment of alcoholism.
abstract: Progress in understanding the neuroscience of addiction has significantly advanced the development of more efficacious medications for the treatment of alcohol use disorders (AUD). While several medications have been approved by regulatory bodies around the world for the treatment of AUD, they are not universally efficacious. Recent research has yielded improved understanding of the genetics and brain circuits that underlie alcohol reward and its habitual use. This research has contributed to pharmacogenetic studies of medication response, and will ultimately lead to a more "personalized medicine" approach to AUD pharmacotherapy. This chapter summarizes work on clinically available medications (both approved by regulatory bodies and investigational) for the treatment of alcohol dependence, as well as the psychiatric disorders that are commonly comorbid with AUD. Studies that have evaluated genetic influences on medication response and those that have employed neuroimaging to probe mechanisms of medication action or response are highlighted. Finally, new targets discovered in animal models for possible pharmacologic intervention in humans are overviewed and future directions in medications development provided.
authors.affiliation: Center for Drug and Alcohol Programs, Alcohol Research Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA. Electronic address: antonr@musc.edu.
authors.forename: Raymond F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Anton
authors.affiliation: Center for Drug and Alcohol Programs, Alcohol Research Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Schacht
authors.affiliation: Center for Drug and Alcohol Programs, Alcohol Research Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Book
mesh_terms: D000077443:Acamprosate; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D009271:Naltrexone / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D059906:Neuroimaging / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D010597:Pharmacogenetics / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends*; D013654:Taurine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014635:Valproic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D013654:Taurine; D009271:Naltrexone; D014635:Valproic Acid; D000077443:Acamprosate
keywords: addiction neurochemistry; alcohol treatment; brain imaging; medications; pharmacogenetics; pharmacologic targets; pharmacotherapy