MEDICATIONS FOR ALCOHOLISM AND MEASURES TO IMPROVE THEM
Abstract
Despite alcohol misuse being a significant sociological and economic issue for hundreds of years, no single effective treatment has been discovered. The intricacy of the pathophysiology of alcohol dependence makes it appear impossible to locate a single medication as a cure-all. This narrative review's goal is to examine current and perhaps upcoming medications for the most economical treatment of alcoholism. The FDA has approved acamprosate, disulfiram, and naltrexone, while the EMA has approved nalmefene. These medications are available to supplement psychotherapy, which is the cornerstone of treatment for alcoholism. The possibility of treating alcoholism with baclofen, topiramate, varenicline, and gabapentin has been reported recently in the literature. Furthermore, the outcomes of recent clinical trials utilizing psychoactive drugs like MDMA and psilocybin seem to represent a breakthrough in the current treatment of alcoholism. Despite this early hope, much more research is required before new pharmacological treatments for alcohol dependency syndrome are broadly accessible. In conclusion, combining pharmaceutical therapy with psychosocial therapies is the most successful approach to managing AUD. The available drugs for treating AUD have demonstrated good overall efficacy, despite the limitations of this review's narrative form. However, more advancements can be made by combining different drugs and tailoring the treatment to each patient. The gap between patients who require treatment and those who receive it can be closed by improving practitioners' understanding of these drugs. Crucially, these drugs may also contribute to the development of precision medicine and individualized care for the diverse AUD population. Nonetheless, there is still a huge need to de-stigmatize and encourage treatment-seeking for AUD, expand the menu of approved pharmaceutical therapies, and improve treatment availability.
Keywords
Alcoholism, drugs, therapy, alcohol dependence syndrome, pharmacological treatments, psychosocial therapies, improve treatment availability.How to Cite
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