Pharmacotherapies for Alcoholism: Promising Agents and Clinical Issues

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Abstract
The past 10 years have witnessed important advances in research on pharmacotherapy for alcoholism. Promising drugs are discussed under six headings: agents to treat alcohol withdrawal; anticraving agents; agents that make drinking an aversive experience; agents to alleviate concomitant psychiatric problems; agents to treat concurrent drug abuse; and amethystic (“sobering‐up”) agents. Research on the drug classes is summarized and clinical issues surrounding specific agents and alcoholism pharmacotherapy in general are discussed. Finally, long‐range therapeutic implications of recent findings on the actions of alcohol on basic mechanisms of the brain are offered.