Acamprosate for Alcohol Dependence: An Update for the Clinician
Correspondence: Address correspondence to: Barbara J. Mason, Ph.D., Professor and Director, Laboratory of Clinical Psychopharmacology; Co-Director, Pearson Center for Alcoholism and Addiction Research, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, TPC-5, La Jolla, CA 92037; Tel: 858-784-7324; Fax: 858-784-7340; email: mason@scripps.edu
REVIEW
Alcohol dependence is a chronic, relapsing disorder affecting more than 8 million Americans who are at increased risk for negative interpersonal and health consequences from pathological drinking.
Successful treatment would potentially decrease these risks and lessen the tremendous personal and societal burdens attributed to this disorder. Psychosocial interventions without pharmacotherapy have long been the traditional treatment approach, but relapse is common.
Advances in the identification of neurotransmitter systems involved in the addiction cycle have led to the development of new medications that, used in combination with counseling, further improve treatment outcome over that with counseling alone.
Acamprosate is one of the medications that have shown success in promoting abstinence in alcohol-dependent individuals. For some patients, integrating acamprosate therapy into clinical practice as a complement to psychosocial interventions would enhance therapeutic options to assist in recovery.
This article provides a clinically focused review of alcohol dependence as well as evidence of the safety and efficacy of acamprosate for treating this disorder.
