Baclofen: alcoholism "cure" pill no better than counselling – study

A drug being touted and prescribed as a cure for alcoholism may not work any better than counselling, Dutch researchers have said.

Without proof of its efficacy, prescribing high doses of the drug known as baclofen may be irresponsible, they warned.

“Prescribing baclofen widely as it currently happens in France might be premature and should be reconsidered,” a Dutch research team wrote in the journal European Neuropsychopharmacology.

Two years ago French health authorities approved use of the drug for treating alcoholism. It was originally designed and widely used to treat muscle spasms.

Many people in other countries are thought to use the drug without a prescription for alcoholism.

Interest was sparked in 2008 by a book, Le Dernier Verre (The Last Drink), by French-American cardiologist Olivier Ameisen, who claimed to have self-treated his alcoholism with high doses of baclofen.

A subsequent French trial said high doses of the drug caused a significant percentage of heavy drinkers to give up or moderate their intake.

Several trials since then have come up with contradictory findings.

The latest study was the largest randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial – widely considered the gold standard for drug trials, said the researchers.

Volunteers were randomly divided into groups – some receiving the drug and others a dummy “placebo” pill without the participants or the researchers knowing who was getting what.

The study enrolled 151 people from alcohol treatment centres in the Netherlands. They were divided into high, low and no-dose groups, and all received psychological counselling throughout.

Comparing the outcomes, the group concluded that “neither low nor high doses of baclofen were effective in the treatment of AD (alcohol dependence)”.

There was no difference in relapse speed or rate between the groups.

“We need to consider safety and side effects,” said study co-author Reinout Wiers from the University of Amsterdam.

“We are not closing the door on baclofen but we are saying that we need more research.”

According to the World Health Organization 3.3 million deaths around the globe every year are the result of harmful alcohol use – almost 6% of all people who die.

Baclofen: alcoholism "cure" pill no better than counselling – study