Lisa R. is the child of an alcoholic. She grew up in a nice
home with a loving family who seemed to have everything. Inside her house, there
was a very different story that her family kept from friends and the community.
Lisa's mother was an alcoholic who drank every single day and eventually died
from the liver disease when Lisa was just 22 years old. Now, at age 35, Lisa is in
recovery from the very same disease.
Almost one-fourth of children in the United States are
exposed to alcohol abuse or dependence in their families before the age of 18.
Yet many alcoholics tackle this disease alone, viewing it as a test of personal
willpower, rather than seeking help.
"I had no idea alcohol addiction was a disease when I
was growing up. I just thought my mother acted that way because she felt like
it," said Lisa, a mother of three daughters. "It wasn't until I found
myself in the same boat that I began to understand her more. I just felt
hopeless. I'd resigned myself that I was just going to die like my mother
because there was no help for this."
In order for people with alcohol dependence to get the
necessary help, it is important that health care providers recognize alcoholism
is a disease that can be treated. "New advances in scientific research
have produced a better understanding of the physiological changes of the brain
from chronic, long-term exposure to alcohol," said Barbara Mason, Ph.D. of
the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California. "The normal
balance of brain chemistry is disrupted in a patient who is addicted to
alcohol. We believe that restoring a normal balance of brain chemistry
effectively helps patients maintain sobriety."
Alcoholism continues to be a problem-one that costs the
United States $185 billion in direct and indirect social costs per year. These
costs may be explained by the fact that many patients with the disease are not
being diagnosed or treated. In fact, 82 percent of America's doctors say they
avoid addressing the issue of alcoholism with their patients. Surprisingly, the
majority of families of alcoholics whose doctor had not intervened say they
wanted their doctor to intervene.
Eight million people suffer from alcohol dependence, yet only approximately 20 percent receive
treatment. In the last decade, there have been few advances in the treatment of
alcohol dependence.
The first new medication in nearly a decade to be approved
by the FDA for the treatment of alcohol dependence, Campral® (acamprosate
calcium) Delayed-Release Tablets, from Forest Laboratories, Inc., is indicated
for the maintenance of abstinence from alcohol in patients who are abstinent at
treatment initiation. Campral® should be part of a comprehensive management
program that includes psychosocial support.
In clinical trials, Campral® has been proven to not only
help alcohol-dependent patients maintain abstinence, but also significantly
prolong the time to first drink.
Like many alcoholics, Lisa has gone through several
unsuccessful attempts to treat her dependence on alcohol. However, this past
March she found that combining behavioural therapy with the prescription
medication called Campral is the most effective treatment for her. Lisa said,
"I used to think, there's no way that I'll ever be able to go the rest of
my life without a drink. But now, with the medication, I am on and the hard work
with group therapy, I find I can resist the need to drink." Lisa has been
abstinent ever since starting that treatment program.
Campral® (acamprosate calcium) is contraindicated in
patients with severe renal impairment (creatinine clearance 30mL/min). Campral
is contraindicated in patients with known hypersensitivity to acamprosate
calcium or any excipients used in the formulation. Campral does not eliminate
or diminish withdrawal symptoms. Alcohol-dependent patients, including those
patients being treated with Campral, should be monitored for the development of
symptoms of depression or suicidal thinking. The most common adverse events
reported with Campral vs. placebo (3% and higher than placebo) were asthenia, diarrhoea,
flatulence, nausea and pruritus.
Campral is a registered trademark of Merck Santé s.a.s, a subsidiary of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.
i Grant, B.F.; Dawson, D.A.; Stinson, F.S.; Chou, S.P.;
Dufour, M.C.; Pickering, R. The 12-month prevalence and trends in DSM-IV
alcohol abuse and dependence: United States, 1991-1992 and 2001-2002. Drug and
Alcohol Dependence 2004; (74); 223-234.
ii The Rush Study. Attitudes Toward Alcoholism. Peter D.
Hart Research Associates on behalf of the Rush Recovery Institute. 1998.
Available at: www.rushrecoveryinstitute.org. Accessed: January 25, 2005.
iii Data on File, Forest Laboratories, Inc. slide.
iv Campral® (acamprosate calcium) Delayed-Release Tablet
Prescribing Information, Forest Laboratories, Inc., St. Louis, MO, 2004.
Disclaimer:
This article is presented solely as an example and is not meant to replace
medical treatment. If you or someone you know need help please seek qualified
medical assistance and do not take any medication without first consulting with
your physician. No content on this site should ever be used as a substitute for
direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinicians.
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