NALTREXONE
Takes the "white-knuckles" out of quitting drinking!!
Naltrexone was the first opiate-antagonist medication approved by
the FDA for use in the treatment of alcoholism and opiate addiction.
Some of the benefits of Naltrexone treatment are:
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Many patients experience dramatic reductions in cravings within
hours of receiving their naltrexone.
-
Naltrexone blocks the "high" and other effects associated with
alcohol or opiate use thereby reducing the incentive to consume
alcohol or opiates while on this medication.
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Significant reductions in the possibility of relapse.
-
Can be given with other medications prescribed for depression and or
other psychiatric conditions but not with prescription narcotic pain
relievers.
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Does NOT cause adverse Antabuse-like reactions when alcohol is
consumed.
-
It is a valuable tool for assisting the process of recovery-but is
not a cure in itself.
"A significant proportion of alcoholics find it difficult to
maintain initial treatment gains and eventually relapse to
problematic drinking... these individuals can now be helped with
naltrexone..."
-Naltrexone And Alcoholism Treatment by the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Treatment Improvement Protocol TIP
28
Why does Naltrexone work? When a human drinks alcohol, a very complex chain reaction
occurs. Soon after
alcohol is consumed and travels into the blood system, it travels to
the brain and stimulates the release of endorphins that subsequently
bind to opioid receptors--these receptor sites can be compared to a
message center, which directs all of our voluntary and involuntary
commands. The opioid
receptor stimulation causes the release of dopamine in the pleasure
center the brain. This
creates the sense of well-being, the sense that problems and
anxieties can be dealt with.
Endorphins assist humans in dealing with stress, anxiety,
self-esteem, patients, moodiness and social well-being.
As an individual continues to drink, over a longer time, the brain
acclimates to the artificial stimulation of alcohol stimulating the
release of endorphins.
During the progression of this disease, endorphins production is
slowed down and ultimately even shuts down as more and more alcohol
is used. This makes the
individual more and more dependent upon alcohol for endorphin
production, not to feel good, but rather so that they do not feel
bad.
Naltrexone breaks this vicious cycle.
Within a very short period of Naltrexone injection, the
craving and desire to consume alcohol is suppressed.
Will the first time in years, many alcohol dependent
individuals will feel relief from the overpowering urge to drink.
Naltrexone addresses the neurobiological component of alcohol
dependence, allowing Cognitive Behavior Therapy to work much sooner
on the psychological and social aspects of the addiction.
NEWS
FLASH
The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical
Association, showed that patients that received Naltrexone, specialized alcohol counseling, or both had the best drinking
outcomes after 16 weeks of alcohol outpatient treatment. All of the
patients in the study also received Medical Management -- an
intervention consisting of nine brief, structured outpatient
sessions provided by a health care professional.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
launched COMBINE in 2001 to identify the most effective current
treatments and treatment combinations for alcohol dependence. It is
the largest clinical trial ever conducted of pharmacologic and
behavioral treatments for alcohol dependence. The COMBINE study was
conducted at 11 academic sites that recruited and randomly assigned
1,383 recently abstinent, alcohol-dependent patients to one of nine
treatment groups.
COMBINE Study Highlights
Here are the highlights of the COMBINE study results after 16
weeks:
-
All groups substantially reduced drinking during treatment.
Overall percent days abstinent tripled, from 25 to 73 percent,
and alcohol consumption per week decreased from 66 to 13 drinks,
a decrease of 80 percent.
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Patients who received medical management plus either Naltrexone
or specialized counseling showed similarly improved outcomes
(PDA= 80.6 percent and 79.2 percent, respectively), compared
with patients who received medical management and placebo pills
(75.1 percent).
-
Patients who received Naltrexone reported less craving for
alcohol.
Naltrexone
Specialized Alcohol Counseling an Effective Treatment for Alcohol
Dependence When Delivered with Medical Management
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism,
Tuesday, May 2, 2006
The medication 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, according to results from "Combining Medications
and Behavioral Interventions for Alcoholism" (The COMBINE Study).
Results from the National Institutes of Health-supported
study show that patients who received Naltrexone, specialized
alcohol counseling, or both demonstrated the best drinking outcomes
after 16 weeks of outpatient treatment.
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/295/17/2003