Treatment for alcohol dependence

An extended-release version of Naltrexone can reduce drinking in alcohol-dependent patients within two days of being injected. Naltrexone is an anti-addiction medicine that blocks opioid receptors and is approved for use in alcohol-dependent patients. To improve adherence, an intramuscular, injectable, extended-release formulation of naltrexone has been developed. It is believed that alcohol dependent patients can quit drinking within 2 days of being injected with Naltrexone. To assess the effectiveness of Naltrexone, researchers tested injectable Naltrexone XR in some 600 actively drinking, alcohol-dependent men and women who were given one of two doses of the drug or an inactive placebo every 4 weeks for 24 weeks. The participants also received 12 sessions of standardised, low-intensity psychosocial therapy. The results showed that patients given the higher dose of Naltrexone had a significant reduction in the average daily number of drinks consumed by the second day. By the third day, fewer naltrexone patients reported heavy drinking compared with those on placebo (20 percent versus 35 percent, respectively). This reduction was maintained throughout the study. While patients treated with the lower dose of naltrexone XR experienced reductions in these measures, the differences compared with placebo were not significant. These findings suggest that people suffering from alcohol-dependence can try Naltrexone to treat their addiction.