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from the Stopping-is-easy...-I've-done-it-many-times! dept.
A new study published by the scientific journal Addiction has found no reliable evidence for using nalmefene, naltrexone, acamprosate, baclofen or topiramate to control drinking in patients with alcohol dependence or alcohol use disorder. At best, some treatments showed low to medium efficacy in reducing drinking, but those findings were from studies with a high risk of bias. None demonstrated any benefit on health outcomes.
The study pooled the results from 32 double-blind randomised controlled trials representing 6,036 patients, published between 1994 and 2015. The studies compared the effects of oral nalmefene (n=9), naltrexone (n=14), acamprosate (n=1), baclofen (n=4) and topimarate (n=4) against placebo.
Many of the studies provided unreliable results due to risk of bias (potential exaggeration of the effects of the drug). Twenty-six studies (81%) showed an unclear or high risk of incomplete outcome data due to the large number of withdrawals. Seventeen studies (53%) showed an unclear or a high risk of selective outcome reporting, as they did not include a protocol registration number, which would allow another researcher to check whether all outcomes were reported.
Clément Palpacuer, et. al. Pharmacologically controlled drinking in the treatment of alcohol dependence or alcohol use disorders: a systematic review with direct and network meta-analyses on nalmefene, naltrexone, acamprosate, baclofen and topiramate. Addiction, 2017; DOI: 10.1111/add.13974
Back to the drawing board.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 22 2017, @04:43PM (2 children)
I was hopelessly addicted to alcohol. I don't know if it's current life situation, genetic predisposition, etc. I just couldn't quit no matter how many times I went for a few days cold turkey. Then I found a magic herb that grows in organic soil. I used an American-grown heirloom variety.
The best part is that I didn't merely replace one expensive addiction with another. Not only is the other cheaper, but compared to alcohol addiction, the herb is like cheesecake. If I ate cheesecake as often as I wanted to, I'd get fat. That doesn't make cheesecake evil. I struggle to find a downside--I don't believe my 401(k) portfolio currently includes any Big Pharma stocks.
I won't pretend it's a permanent insta-fix take 2 of these and call me in the morning. Addiction is more complicated that just physiology and neurology. However, the herb can help with the physical and neurological dependence. For the more complicated parts of addiction, once the physical and neurological dependence goes away, I recommend general mindfulness once sobriety is achieved (6+ months on the wagon) in addition to yoga exercises and regular meditation.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 22 2017, @06:08PM
Glad you made some sort of a life-style change for the better... I too have genetic predisposition for Alcoholism, having seen what it did to my mother, and the relationship between us, I vowed to never touch the stuff and I never have. At one point I was mad at the world, I blamed everyone for trivializing alcohol addiction because I felt that the price I paid for having this stuff everywhere was too high for even one child to pay. But in the end I realize if it wasn't alcohol it would be something else, so let the masses drink themselves stupid on Friday night.
(Score: 3, Informative) by DeathMonkey on Friday September 22 2017, @06:21PM
Then I found a magic herb that grows in organic soil.
It also reduces opiod addiction. [newsweek.com]