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Family History of Alcoholism Affects Response to Drug Used toTreat Heavy Drinking |
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From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Naltrexone is one of four oral medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of alcoholism. A recent large multicenter research study of alcohol dependence supported by the National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA), the COMBINE Study, suggested that naltrexone produced a modest but significant benefit but another FDA-approved medication, acamprosate, was ineffective. Yet, clinicians report that naltrexone may have significant benefits for individual patients. A new study that will appear in the September 15th issue of Biological Psychiatry suggests that alcohol dependent individuals with a family history of alcohol dependence may be more likely than alcohol dependent individuals without a family history of alcohol dependence to reduce their drinking in the laboratory when prescribed naltrexone. Krishnan-Sarin and colleagues at the NIAAA Center for the Translational Neuroscience of Alcoholism studied alcohol consumption in the laboratory by alcohol-dependent individuals who were not seeking treatment. According to Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin, Ph.D., the lead author, "The results suggest that family history of alcoholism may be an important predictor of clinical response to naltrexone and could potentially be used to guide clinical practice."
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