Call 888-647-0579 to speak with an alcohol or drug abuse counselor.

Who Answers?

Pill could fight alcoholism

For alcoholics, experts say the consequences of addiction last long after an evening binge to affect abusers’ entire lives, from restless mornings to sleepless nights.

BU School of Medicine is conducting a clinical trial to test the effectiveness of a psychiatric medication that could eliminate or significantly reduce heavy drinkers’ cravings for alcohol, according to researchers involved with the trial.

“One of the major symptoms of alcoholism is the inability to sleep without a drink, which is a vicious cycle we want to help people overcome,” BU study project manager Eric Devine said.

The study will test Seroquel XR, a drug already on the market as a sleeping aid, to see if the drug helps excessive drinkers overcome alcohol dependence. If it works, Devine said the drug could prevent alcoholics from resorting to more drastic measures to combat their addiction later in life.

“I hope that people who are suffering and need help will see that there are alternatives to Alcoholics Anonymous and detoxification,” he said.

At first, alcohol’s sedative properties help people fall asleep easily and quickly, but habitual drinking eventually leads them to experience sleep disruptions throughout the night, said Joanne Fertig, a project officer at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

BU’s study is one of five similar clinical trials around the country sponsored by the NIAAA. The trials are an offshoot of a 2007 University of Pennsylvania study that found Seroquel XR helped some heavy drinkers become completely sober and relieved many participants’ sleep problems.

“It was exciting to find a treatment that might work in a hard-to-treat population because people usually give up on [alcohol-dependent] patients,” said Helen Pettinati, the principal investigator for the UPenn study.

Researchers said that alcoholics tend not to treat their problem until late in their lives. One BU student named Aaron, who asked that his last name not be used, said he has drunk alcohol and taken Vicodin pills several times to help him sleep.

Still, the College of Arts and Sciences freshman said the benefits of drinking outweigh the risks for him.

“If you can’t sleep, you can’t function,” he said. “Alcohol helped me sleep for the first time in 11 days on one occasion.”

Other students wondered about the drug’s uses. College of Communication senior Andrew Clapham said he thinks the study is a worthwhile undertaking, but added if the drug proves successful it could lead to unnecessary prescriptions for people who are not heavy drinkers.

Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences junior Lisa Ziegelbauer said she has friends who drink in order to sleep so she would support a drug that helps people get over their desire for alcohol.

“Any drug that could get rid of someone’s craving for alcohol so that they don’t abuse it is a good idea,” she said.
________________
source: Daily Free Press

More Treatment & Detox Articles

Study: 60% of U.S. Adults are Drinkers

Around six in 10 American adults drink alcohol and the same number are either overweight or obese, according federal health statistics. The National Center for Health Statistics released a report Monday on health behaviors of American adults. Data was collected between 2005 and 2007. Among the other key findings: While 61.2 percent of adults are….

Help for parents of troubled teens

Parenting has never been easy. Moreover, when it comes to parenting a troubled teen it can be lot overwhelming and also a lot disturbing. Normally, every child becomes a lot difficult to handle when he enters his teens. Therefore, it is necessary to distinguish between the normal behavior and understanding whether this behavior is a….

Drinkers "zone out," but may not know it

Even a modest amount of alcohol can make the mind prone to wandering, but drinkers may be slow to notice it, a new study suggests. Researchers found that when they had a group of men read “War and Peace” after either an alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink, those who’d imbibed were markedly more prone to zoning….

Insurance Coverage For Drug Treatment

Most people who are seeking a drug rehab center and are fortunate enough to have health insurance want to know if it will by for the treatment. While there isn’t really a simple answer to this, there are some basic guidelines here that can help you understand the process a bit more and how it….

Is Inpatient Treatment Better than Outpatient Treatment?

When you finally do decide to seek help for yourself or a loved one who is addicted to drugs or alcohol, the growing concern may be what type of treatment is going to be most effective—is inpatient treatment better than outpatient treatment? The answer to this question depends on a variety of different circumstantial factors….