Effective Options for Treating Alcohol Dependency

Alcoholism and alcohol dependency are complex conditions for which no simple and universally effective medical cures currently exist. However, in combination with individual and group therapy, behavior modification, and participation in recovery support groups, some medications have proved to be useful in keeping recovering individuals from relapsing.

The following drugs had been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in the treatment of alcohol abuse and dependency:

Acamprosate – Legal in Europe since 1989, Acamprosate (also known as Campral) was approved for use in the United States in 2004. The FDA release that announced the approval of Acamprosate included the following statement:

"While its mechanism of action is not fully understood, Campral is thought to act on the brain pathways related to alcohol abuse. Campral was demonstrated to be safe and effective by multiple placebo-controlled clinical studies involving alcohol-dependent patients who had already been withdrawn from alcohol, (i.e., detoxified).

Campral proved superior to placebo in maintaining abstinence (keeping patients off alcohol consumption), as indicated by a greater percentage of acamprosate-treated subjects being assessed as continuously abstinent throughout treatment.

Campral is not addicting and was generally well-tolerated in clinical trials. The most common adverse events reported for patients taking Campral included headache, diarrhea, flatulence, and nausea.

Antabuse – Also known as disulfiram, Antabuse was the first alcohol dependence drug to be authorized for use in the United States. Unlike Acamprosate, Antabuse is prescribed to people who have not yet been able to quit drinking. The drug works by causing a severe negative reaction – which can include chest pain, vertigo, accelerated heartbeat, and nausea – when a person who is taking it drinks alcohol.

Antabuse is taken daily in a single dose (usually a 250 mg pill). Depending upon the specific needs of the patient and the progress he is making in his efforts to remain sober, the drug may be taken for months or, in some cases, years.

Disulfiram was discovered by Danish researchers in 1948. It is currently being studied for use in the treatment of cocaine addiction as well as for some types of cancer.

Naltrexone – A type of drug known as an “opioid receptor antagonist,” Naltrexone is marketed under the brand names Revia, Depade, and (in extended-release version) Vivitrol. Prescribed to patients who have already quit drinking, Naltrexone reduces cravings for alcohol. The drug is also used in “rapid detoxification,” during which patients are often sedated or placed under general anesthesia.

Naltrexone was originally employed in the treatment of opioid dependence, but clinical trials that proved its effectiveness as a means of helping alcohol-dependent individuals remain sober earned FDA approval for the treatment of alcoholism. 

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, results from the five-year Combining Medications and Behavioral Interventions for Alcoholism (COMBINE) study demonstrated that “Naltrexone and up to 20 sessions of alcohol counseling by a behavioral specialist are equally effective treatments for alcohol dependence when delivered with structured medical management.”