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A new study reports that the use of a drug known for a long time, and taken before drinking, could reduce the amount of alcohol consumed, especially among binge drinkers.
If you’re the type to regret the night before, due to excessive alcohol consumption, this news should interest you. According to a recent American study published in American Journal of Psychiatry, a dose of a drug called naltrexone, taken before consuming alcohol, could cut the craving at its source and limit excesses. Naltrexone is a drug that blocks endorphins and reduces the euphoria of intoxication. It has been used in the treatment of alcohol dependence for almost 30 years in patients with more severe alcohol disorders, but was not considered occasionally in anticipation of heavy alcohol consumption.
A preventive pill that reduces the desire to drink
In the study, 120 men who wanted to reduce occasional binge drinking (without being considered severely addicted) were given naltrexone to take whenever they felt a craving for alcohol or anticipated a period of heavy drinking. . Half of the men received naltrexone, the other half received a placebo without knowing it. Each week, participants also received advice on how to reduce their alcohol consumption. At the end of the 12-week study, people who received naltrexone reported binge drinking less frequently and consumed less alcohol than those who received a placebo. A change that lasted up to six months, causing only mild nausea the first time, as an adverse effect.
Treatment for “recreational” alcoholism?
Thus analyzed, the treatment could seem like a solution for all people who suffer from excessive consumption, on weekends for example. A trend which, even occasionally, poses several health and social problems. For Glenn-Milo Santos, lead author of the study, this drug alternative would have the particular advantage of allowing discussion between patients and doctors. “It’s important in itself to make people aware that there are effective medications that can help people cope with their drinking.“.
The approach could also allow for a new perspective on alcoholism. For Dr. Lorenzo Leggio, a research physician at the National Institutes of Health, this latest study is very important because alcoholism treatments are traditionally designed for people with serious addictions. While many more people, like the study participants, have mild or moderate alcohol use disorders.
“If we attack the medical problem right away and early, we will not only treat the problem, but prevent the development of the most serious forms of the disease.”
An interesting approach to curbing “bingers”
Contacted on the subject, Dr. Philippe Batel, psychiatrist and alcoholologist, is not surprised by this result “I had myself proposed developing a study with nalmefene, a cousin of naltrexone, targeted at binge drinkers. But as this is difficult to follow, the studies are primarily interested in heavy consumers. We could have obtained these results long before,” he laments.
Seeing solutions to fight against alcoholism, even occasional, is nevertheless a real public health mission.
“Binge drinking is not just about teenagers as you might think. All people who can drink 5 units in one weekend evening experience an acceleration during the evening. The more they drink, the faster they do it. Blocking this spiral with an opiate makes it possible to curb risky driving. But what I find most interesting is the strongest effect of naltrexone (or other such drugs) on reducing relapses.”
An action that can be important indeed. As reminded by the MILDECA (the Interministerial Mission for the Fight against Drugs and Addictive Behaviours), occasional excessive consumption does not expose to the same dangers as regular alcohol consumption, but remains just as problematic. Several risks are established today:
- Loss of control, violent and impulsive behavior can be dangerous for others but also for oneself;
- Serious medical complications can occur during these acute poisonings: alcoholic coma, death in certain exceptional cases, trauma, respiratory disorders, etc.;
- In the long term, the brain is also impacted by these excesses. Finally, early initiation (before age 15) and continued use among adolescents increase the risk of subsequent dependence, cognitive disorders and the appearance of psychiatric disorders.