Study Finds Out That Varenicline Is Effective For the Treatment of Alcohol Dependence
Date: 3rd June 2013
A group of scientists at the “National Institutes of Health” had conducted a study and found that the anti-smoking medication varenicline may be an effective for treating alcohol dependence. The scientists discovered that when varenicline was administered to individuals dependent on alcohol, it yielded quick results and considerably decreased alcohol cravings and the rate of alcohol consumption among those people. Varenicline is marketed as Chantix, a registered trademark of Pfizer Inc.
Dependence on alcohol is a chronic disorder that leads to alcohol cravings and loss of control after drinking huge amounts of alcohol. This disorder includes withdrawal symptoms after quitting alcohol and the apparent need to consume large quantities of alcohol to experience the same effects.
Kenneth R. Warren, the acting director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism states that some of the available medicines are useful for the treatment of alcohol dependence in several patients but it can`t be said that they are effective for all types of patients. He adds that new medications are required to offer effective treatment to a range of people who are dependent on alcohol. Kenneth R. Warren also mentions that the new study is a promising development in the attempt to improve treatment options for alcohol dependent people.
Raye Z. Litten, the leading author of the study and associate director of the NIAAA Division of Treatment and Recovery Research, reveals that the study is the first type of multi-site clinical experiment undertaken to evaluate the safety and efficacy of varenicline in people comprising of non-smokers and smokers afflicted with alcohol dependence.
The results obtained from the study were published online in the Journal of Addiction Medicine
Source: nih.gov; enewspf.com |
