Effect of oral acamprosate on abstinence in patients with alcohol dependence in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial: the role of patient motivation.

This is the first US study to evaluate the clinical efficacy of acamprosate (Campral), a newly FDA-approved medication for maintaining abstinence in patients with alcohol dependence following alcohol withdrawal. We compared effects of the standard 2 g dose (n=258) and an exploratory 3 g dose of acamprosate (n=83) versus placebo (n=260), and evaluated drug safety in a double-blind, placebo-controlled 6-month trial conducted in 21 outpatient clinics across the US. Participants were 601 volunteers with current alcohol dependence recruited primarily by advertisement.

Acamprosate and relapse prevention in the treatment of alcohol dependence: a placebo-controlled study.

The objective of this study was to compare acamprosate with placebo in the treatment of alcohol-dependent patients during a 6-month post-detoxification treatment and a 3-month medication-free follow-up. Patients (n = 330) were detoxified and randomized to treatment with acamprosate (1998 mg/day) or placebo within an out-patient programme including medical counselling, psychotherapy and self-help groups. The main outcome criterion was drinking behaviour as assessed by: abstinence/relapse ratio, cumulative abstinence duration (CAD) and the period of continued abstinence.

Clinical pharmacokinetics of acamprosate.

Acamprosate is a new psychotropic drug used in the treatment of alcohol (ethanol)-dependence. Recent studies suggest that acamprosate inhibits neuronal hyperexcitability by antagonising excitatory amino acids. It is available as a 333 mg enteric-coated tablet, with a recommended dosage of 1.

Fulminant hepatic failure in poisoning due to ingestion of T 61, a veterinary euthanasia drug.

A patient developed fulminant hepatic failure 48 h after the ingestion of T 61, a veterinary euthanasia drug which contains both general and local anesthetics, a neuromuscular blocking agent, and dimethylformamide (DMF) as a solvent. This is the first report of such severe hepatic manifestation in T 61 poisoning, the most common symptoms of which are early coma and respiratory failure due to the anesthetic and the neuromuscular blocking agent. In a very few cases mild and transitory symptoms of hepatic insufficiency have been observed.