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Promising News for People Who Suffer from Alcoholism
Campral® First Drug In a Decade Approved to Help Normalize Brain Chemistry and Support
Long-Term Abstinence in Alcohol Dependent Patients is Now Available Nationwide
Lead Investigator, Dr. Barbara Mason, Ph.D., Scripps Research Institute, Discusses Relevance for Alcohol Dependent Patients
News Background:
Campral® (acamprosate calcium), the first new medication in ten years for the treatment of alcohol dependence, is now available nationwide for patients who are committed to achieving long-term abstinence.
Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in July, Campral, when used in combination with psycho-social support, is the first drug to help patients achieve complete abstinence by restoring the brain chemical balance of the brain, which is disrupted by long term excessive drinking. This treatment is different from the currently available medications which either block alcohol’s “high” or induce vomiting after alcohol consumption.
Prior to FDA approval, Campral was extensively studied in four double blind, placebo–controlled trials. In three of these trials, complete abstinence was demonstrated with patients receiving Campral treatment in combination with psycho-social support therapies. Campral-treated patients also had a reduced incidence and severity of relapse.
Alcohol dependence affects nearly 9 million Americans. Only 1.4 million sufferers of alcohol dependence seek treatment and only 100,000 receive effective drug therapy to treat the disease. Left untreated, alcoholism increases the risk for heart disease, liver disease, infectious disease, and cancer. In addition, alcoholism costs the United States more than $185 billion annually in direct and indirect costs.
Who:
Lead
Investigator Dr. Barbara Mason, Ph.D., Professor and Director of the Division of
Clinical Psychopharmacology at the Scripps Research Institute. Dr. Mason
served as the overall
principal investigator for the first U.S. study of Campral, which was conducted
with 601 patients in 21 centers across the United States.
Available to discuss:
· Facts about alcoholism
· The physical impact of alcoholism
· Diagnostic and treatment needs
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Alcoholism or Alcohol Dependence Characteristics Craving: a strong urge to drink. Loss of control: inability to stop drinking once begun. Physical dependence: withdrawal (nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety) when a person stops drinking. Tolerance: the need to consume ever greater amounts of alcohol to get “high”’
Physical Impact of Alcoholism Chronic heavy drinking is the leading cause of cardiovascular illnesses such as cardiomyopathy, coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, dangerous heart rhythms and stroke Long-term heavy alcohol use is the leading cause of illness and death from liver disease in the United States Consuming at least four alcoholic beverages a day significantly increases the risk of developing any type of cancer |
Campral has a low potential for drug-drug interactions and can be taken with medications commonly prescribed in this patient population, including anxiolytics, hypnotics, and sedatives (including benzodiazepines) and non-opioid analgesics. Campral is contraindicated in patients with severe renal impairment (creatinine clearance <30 mL/min) and requires a dose reduction in patients with moderate renal impairment (creatinine clearance of 30-50 mL/min).
The recommended dose of Campral is two 333 mg tablets taken three times daily. Treatment with Campral should be initiated as soon as possible after the period of alcohol withdrawal, when the patient has achieved abstinence, and should be maintained if the patients relapse.
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