102,304 research outputs found
Tolerance to baclofen’s sedative effect in alcohol addicted patients: no dissipation after a period of abstinence.
No full textWe read with great interest the recent report by Besheer
et al. (2004) about the effects of GABA B
receptor agonists on parameters of alcohol self-administration in ethanol-naive and self-administering mice. Confirming previous
preclinical studies (Colombo et al. 2000,2002), the
authors showed that baclofen was able to decrease alcohol
intake in pretreated animals, reducing ethanol-reinforced
responding at doses that did not alter water-reinforced
responding. Moreover, the authors showed that ethanol-
experienced mice were less sensitive to the sedative
properties of baclofen than naive mice, suggesting that the
combination of baclofen and alcohol or baclofen alone
would have less of a negative impact on alcoholic patients
than on naive drinker subjects; this observation underlines
further the safety of the drug in the treatment of alcohol
addiction. However, the authors claim to show evidence
for the permanence of cross-tolerance to the agonist after a
period of alcohol abstinence, although no data are at
present available. Our clinical experience, correctly quoted
by the authors (Addolorato et al.2000,2002a), are in line
with the data by Besheer et al. (2004)
Progetto dal titolo “A double-blind randomized study on alcohol intake and craving reduction in alcohol-dependent patients comparing bacoflen 10mg, bacoflen 20 mg and placebo
No full text
Treating Alcohol Use Disorder in Patients with Alcohol Associated Liver Disease
No full textAlcohol use disorder (AUD) is one of the main causes of global death and disability. The liver represents the main target of alcohol damage and alcohol associated liver disease (ALD) represents the first cause of liver cirrhosis in Western Countries. Alcohol abstinence is the main goal of treatment in AUD patients with ALD, because treatments for ALD are less effective when drinking continues. Moreover, the persistence of alcohol consumption is associated with higher mortality, increased need for liver transplantation and graft loss. The most effective treatment for AUD is the combination of psychosocial interventions, pharmacological therapy and medical management. However, the effectiveness of these treatments in patients with ALD are doubtful even because AUD patients with ALD are usually excluded from pharmacological trials due to concerns on liver safety. This narrative review will discuss the treatment options for AUD-ALD patients focusing on controversies in pharmacological therapy
Baclofen: a new drug for the treatment of alcohol dependence
No full textSUMMARY
Recent preclinical and clinical studies have suggested that baclofen, the prototypic c-aminobutyric acid B (GABAB)receptor agonist, is a promising pharmacological compound
for use in the treatment of alcohol dependence. In
particular, baclofen has been found to suppress symptoms
of alcohol withdrawal syndrome with an efficacy comparable with that of the ‘gold standard’ diazepam. Moreover, baclofen has proven effective in the prevention of relapse due to its ability to reduce alcohol intake and craving in alcoholic patients. Baclofen proved to be manageable, producing no significant side effects and displaying no addictive properties. The efficacy of the drug in the management
of both alcohol withdrawal syndrome and relapse prevention should entail a vastly simplified pharmacotherapy of alcohol dependence
Investigation into the use of alcohol at thermal spas: can a spa represent a place for primary prevention?
No full textPrimary prevention is one of the most effective means used nowadays to make the general population aware of most of the problems connected with health, but information campaigns have not yet shown results of alcohol- related problems at thermal spas. The aim of this study was to assess the mean daily alcohol intake (grams/day) in a thermal spa population. The sample was conducted over a 6 month period and consisted of 290 subjects. The mean age was 59.01 years (range 23-89, SD ± 14.20) (150 males and 140 females). All of the subjects underwent a medical examination free of charge and an alcohol case history report. The medical staff working at the spa included two doctors, a biologist, a cardiologist, and a dietician. In the final 176 subjects studied, the mean daily alcohol intake was 32.33 g/day, significantly higher in the males than the females (p < 0.001). The 176 subjects were subsequently divided into three subgroups according to their daily alcohol intake: group A, <40 g/day; group B, 40 to 79 g/day; group C, ≤ 80 g/day. The number of subjects in group A was significantly greater than in group B and group C (p < 0.001). It is important to emphasize that 33.5% of the subjects studied presented a mean daily alcohol intake of ≤ 40 g/day and therefore were more exposed to the risk of the onset of alcohol-related problems. In view of these results, thermal spas should thus be considered an additional place in which to identify subjects at risk for problematic use of alcohol and represent an environment in which primary prevention campaigns could be started
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