Article
Neurosciences
James C. Garbutt, Alexei B. Kampov-Polevoy, Cort Pedersen, Melissa Stansbury, Robyn Jordan, Laura Willing, Robert J. Gallop
Summary: The study found that baclofen has efficacy in treating AUD, with dose and sex potentially influencing its effectiveness and tolerability.
NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Substance Abuse
Kim Donoghue
Summary: In England, medications for alcohol relapse prevention are rarely prescribed, with only 7.8% of service users receiving prescriptions in 2015/16. These prescriptions are found to be associated with specific service user demographics, treatment, and clinical characteristics.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Joao M. Castaldelli-Maia, Andre Malbergier, Adriana B. P. de Oliveira, Ricardo A. Amaral, Andre B. Negrao, Priscila D. Goncalves, Antonio Ventriglio, Domenico de Berardis, Juliana de Antonio, Isabela Firigato, Gilka J. F. Gattas, Fernanda de Toledo Goncalves
Summary: The study aimed to investigate the role of alcohol metabolizing enzymes (AME) genetic variants in the treatment of alcohol use disorder (AUD) with naltrexone. Results showed that certain gene variants were associated with better response to naltrexone treatment, while others showed negative outcomes. Further research is needed to explore the relationship between alcohol metabolizing genotypes, family history of alcohol use disorders, and the effect of naltrexone on treatment outcomes. Genotyping may be a valuable tool for precision medicine in the context of alcohol use disorders, though the study's main limitation was the small number of subjects.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kim Donoghue, Laura Hermann, Eileen Brobbin, Colin Drummond
Summary: This study aims to review the rates of adherence reported in randomized controlled clinical trials of acamprosate and determine the reliability of adherence monitoring and measurement methods used in these trials. The results suggest that adherence to acamprosate in clinical trials can be poor, with low confidence in the methods used to measure it. This has implications for determining the efficacy of acamprosate.
Article
Substance Abuse
Nozomu Hashimoto, Hiroshi Habu, Soshi Takao, Shinji Sakamoto, Yuko Okahisa, Keitaro Matsuo, Manabu Takaki, Yoshiki Kishi, Norihito Yamada
Summary: This study identified clinical moderators that affect treatment response to nalmefene in alcohol-dependent patients. Age, family history of problem drinking, age at onset of problem drinking, and smoking status were found to be possible positive moderators. Patients with favorable prognostic factors such as non-smoking status, no family history of problem drinking, and a late-onset of problem drinking selectively benefit from nalmefene. Further research is needed to validate these exploratory results.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Geoffrey Konrad, Christine Leong, James M. Bolton, Heather J. Prior, Michael T. Paille, Josh Nepon, Deepa Singal, Okechukwu Ekuma, Jennifer E. Enns, Nathan C. Nickel
Summary: The study found that despite established evidence for the effectiveness of pharmacotherapy for alcohol use disorder, these medications remain profoundly underutilized in Canada. Only 1.3% of individuals with alcohol use disorder received pharmacotherapy, with most prescriptions coming from family physicians in urban areas and psychiatrists.
Article
Neurosciences
Lara A. Ray, Wave-Ananda Baskerville, Steven J. Nieto, Erica Grodin, Craig Enders, Annabel Kady, Lindsay Meredith, Artha Gillis, Adam Leventhal, Diana Ho, Karen Miotto
Summary: This study tested a novel human laboratory model in which individuals with intrinsic motivation to change their drinking engaged in a 6-day practice quit attempt. The results showed that the medication had no significant effects on the drinking behavior during the practice quit period, but participants significantly reduced their drinking during the entire medication treatment period.
PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Ann Tarja Karlsson, John-Kare Vederhus, Thomas Clausen, Bente Weimand, Kristin Klemmetsby Solli, Lars Tanum
Summary: Patients with substance use disorder have higher levels of impulsivity, hyperactivity, and inattention (IHI) compared to the general population. However, the prevalence of such symptoms in patients seeking treatment with an opioid antagonist like extended-release naltrexone (XR-NTX) is unknown. Screening for IHI and mental distress in opioid maintenance treatment and XR-NTX could improve care quality and help tailor interventions for patients with high levels of IHI to prevent treatment discontinuation.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Review
Clinical Neurology
Juan Yang, Kyung-Min Shin, Alex Do, Dennis M. Bierle, Abd Moain Abu Dabrh, Ziying Yin, Brent A. Bauer, Arya B. Mohabbat
Summary: 《Safety and efficacy of low-dose naltrexone for fibromyalgia treatment》This study aimed to systematically assess the current evidence on the safety and efficacy of low-dose naltrexone (LDN) for the treatment of fibromyalgia (FM). A comprehensive search produced 805 articles, and 9 articles were selected for evaluation. LDN was found to be effective in the symptomatic management of FM, with no severe adverse events reported. However, the level of scientific evidence is limited, and future well-designed trials with large sample sizes are required.
JOURNAL OF PAIN RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
C. Noelle Driver, Ryan S. D'Souza
Summary: Current pharmacologic treatments for fibromyalgia and chronic pain disorders have limited analgesic effects, prompting the exploration of low-dose naltrexone (LDN) as a potential option. This study investigated the real-world prescribing practices of LDN, assessed the perceived benefit of LDN in managing pain symptoms, and identified predictors for benefit or discontinuation. Out of 115 patients included in the analysis, 65% reported a benefit in their pain symptoms while taking LDN, and 36% discontinued LDN by the most recent follow-up. LDN showed potential as a safe pharmacologic option for chronic pain conditions and should be further investigated in controlled clinical trials.
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Md Toufiqur Rahman, Ann M. Decker, Sami Ben Hamida, David A. Perrey, Hetti Handi Chaminda Lakmal, Rangan Maitra, Emmanuel Darcq, Brigitte L. Kieffer, Chunyang Jin
Summary: We reported a new GPR88 agonist, RTI-122, with high potency and good metabolic stability, which could improve alcohol drinking behavior. This suggests that RTI-122 may serve as a promising lead compound for GPR88 agonist drug discovery research.
JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Review
Substance Abuse
Charles E. Murphy, Ralph C. Wang, Juan Carlos Montoy, Evans Whittaker, Maria Raven
Summary: The study showed that extended-release naltrexone can reduce the number of drinking days and heavy drinking days per month in patients with AUD, with larger reductions seen with longer duration of treatment.
Article
Immunology
JeanAnne M. Ware, Elise M. O'Connell, Thomas Brown, Lauren Wetzler, Kawsar R. Talaat, Thomas B. Nutman, Theodore E. Nash
Summary: This study evaluated the use of miltefosine in 26 CL patients, showing a 77% cure rate with various Leishmania species. Common adverse events included nausea/vomiting (97%) and lack of appetite (54%), with some patients requiring treatment adjustments. Despite imperfect efficacy, miltefosine is considered a viable alternative treatment for CL due to its oral administration, broad efficacy, and manageable toxicities.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Psychology, Clinical
Damian Czarnecki, Marcin Ziolkowski, Jan Chodkiewicz, Marta Gorzkiewicz, Napoleon Waszkiewicz, Anna Dlugosz, Jacek Budzynski, Anna Junkiert-Czarnecka, Agnieszka Kulak-Bejda
Summary: This study aimed to assess changes in the severity of alcohol craving according to allelic variants of the 5-HTTLPR gene polymorphism during hospitalisation and their association with selected clinical variables in alcohol-dependent patients. The results showed that there was a decrease in the severity of alcohol craving at the 6th week of the follow-up in subjects with the short/short allele and long/short allele of the 5-HTTLPR gene.
PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH AND BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Review
Substance Abuse
Emmert Roberts, Rachel Smith, Matthew Hotopf, Colin Drummond
Summary: There is currently very low quality evidence supporting the use of pharmacologically active interventions for the treatment or prevention of alcohol-induced hangover. Several studies suggest that clove extract, tolfenamic acid, and pyritinol may have favorable effects, but further research is needed to confirm these findings.
