PREDICTION OF SEROTONERGIC TREATMENT EFFICACY USING AGE OF ONSET AND TYPE A/B TYPOLOGIES OF ALCOHOLISMAlcohol Clin Exp Res. 2008 August; 32(8): 1502–1512.
Previously, we reported that ondansetron was efficacious at treating early-onset (≤25 years old) but not late-onset (≥26 years old) alcoholics in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial (n = 321 enrolled patients, 271 of them randomized). Randomized participants underwent 11 weeks of treatment with ondansetron (1, 4, or 16 µg/kg twice daily; n = 67, 77, and 71, respectively) or identical placebo (n = 56), plus weekly standardized group cognitive behavioral therapy.
Type A/B classification best discriminates alcoholic subtypes based upon baseline severity. Early- vs. late-onset classification is, however, a better predictor of response to ondansetron treatment because it might be more closely related to fundamental neurobiological processes associated with the underlying pathophysiology of alcoholism.
Read Full Text (PDF)
_______________________________________________________________________
