title: Human pharmacology for addiction medicine: From evidence to clinical recommendations.
abstract: Substance use disorders (SUD) are complex and often chronic diseases with negative health outcomes and social consequences. Pharmacological treatment options for SUD can be separated in medications for (i) intoxication, (ii) withdrawal, and (iii) reduction of use together with relapse prevention. This chapter will focus on approved or clinically established pharmacological strategies suited to manage symptoms of withdrawal, and to reduce substance use or to promote abstinence. Hereby SUD involving alcohol, nicotine, stimulants, and opioids are primarily discussed as these substances are considered most harmful for both the individual and the society. Moreover, the pharmacotherapy of SUD related to the use of cannabis, benzodiazepines, and gamma-hydroxybutyrate is also briefly reviewed. Since most approved pharmacological treatment options show only moderate effect sizes especially in the long term, the development of new treatment strategies including new drugs, new combinations of available compounds, and biomarkers for response prediction is still warranted.
authors.affiliation: Experimental and Clinical Pharmacopsychology, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Centre Zurich, University of Zurich and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich, Switzerland. Electronic address: quednow@bli.uzh.ch.
authors.forename: Boris B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Quednow
authors.affiliation: Center for Addictive Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Herdener
mesh_terms: D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D012008:Recurrence; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*
keywords: Cocaine; Drug dependence; Ethanol; GHB; Heroin; Marijuana; Methamphetamine; Prescription opioids; Tobacco