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A Review of Pharmacotherapies for Substance Abuse
Author(s) -
Kosten Thomas R.,
McCance Elinore
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
the american journal on addictions
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.997
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1521-0391
pISSN - 1055-0496
DOI - 10.1111/j.1521-0391.1996.tb00479.x
Subject(s) - naltrexone , detoxification (alternative medicine) , buprenorphine , medicine , clonidine , opioid , pharmacology , ondansetron , heroin , drug , anesthesia , alternative medicine , receptor , pathology , nausea
New pharmacotherapies have been developed for acute withdrawal and maintenance treatments of alcohol and opioid dependence but not for cocaine dependence. High‐dose, long‐acting benzodiazepines, beta‐blockers, and two antiseizure agents—carbamazepine and valproate—are being used for alcohol withdrawal. For maintenance treatment, opioid antagonists and various serotonergic agents, such as fluoxetine and ondansetron, show promise. For opioid dependence, clonidine‐naltrexone detoxification appears quite cost‐effective, and buprenorphine and LAAM (levo‐alpha‐acetylmethadol) show promise for both detoxification and maintenance. More work is needed, however, to discover an effective agent for target populations of cocaine abusers.