A collaborative Brazillian study between the Vitória Municipal Addiction Treatment Center (Dr. Furieri); and the Department of Physiological Sciences, Health Science Center, Federal University of Espírito Santo (Dr. Nakamura-Palacios) found that Gabapentin reduced alcohol craving and consumption.
A randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial that consisted of 60 male alcohol-dependent subjects with an average of 27 years of alcohol use and who 
consumed 17 drinks a day over the 90 previous days. The subjects had no other medical or psychiatric conditions. 60 were selected to receive diazepam and vitamins as treatment for acute withdrawal for a minimum of 7 days. After detoxification 30 subjects were randomly chosen to receive gabapentin (30 mg/day) for a period of 4 weeks and 30 were selected to receive a placebo.
After 4 weeks of treatment, the gabapentin group showed a significant reduction in number of drinks and an increase in percentage of days of abstinence compared to the placebo group.
The researchers therefore concluded that gabapentin reduced alcohol consumption and craving which may help maintain abstinence. Therefore, it is believed that the results coupled with the virtual absence of side effects supports gabapentin as a possible drug for the treatment of alcohol dependence.
[Source: The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry]
Comment Preview