No Magic Pill to cure alcoholism : Study finds

There is no magic pill to cure alcoholism, according to a scientific review of the evidence of five drugs being prescribed by doctors. None of the available drugs namely nalmefene, naltrexone, acamprosate, baclofen or topiramate was effective for pharmacological treatment to control drinking.Dr Clément Palpacuer from Inserm, the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research and his associates looked at the trials carried out on nalmefene, naltrexone, acamprosate, baclofen and topimarate against placebos to reach this conclusion.

In a systematic review with direct and network meta-analysis of double-blind randomized controlled trials the researchers explored the comparative effectiveness of drugs used for Pharmacologically controlled drinking in the treatment of alcohol dependence or alcohol use disorders (AUDs) . It was found that none of the five drugs has a body of reliable evidence behind it for the same.

The researchers concluded that there is currently no high-grade evidence for pharmacological treatment to control drinking using nalmefene, naltrexone, acamprosate, baclofen or topiramate in patients with alcohol dependence or alcohol use disorder. Some treatments show low to medium efficacy in reducing drinking across a range of studies with a high risk of bias. None demonstrates any benefit on health outcomes.

For more details click on the link: 10.1111/add.13974