Naltrexone for alcohol-dependent patients.

Background: Clinical trials have shown that naltrexone 50 mg/day reduces alcohol consumption and relapse rates in alcohol dependents.

Aim: To investigate the efficacy of 50mg/day dose of naltrexone in the maintenance of alcohol-dependent subjects over a 36-week treatment period.

Methods: Subjects were randomised into two equal groups, consisting of 116 male alcohol-dependent patients who met the DSM-IV criteria for alcohol dependence and were seeking treatment.

Twelve-month maintenance treatment of opium-dependent patients.

The goal of this study was to compare the effects of 1, 3 and 8 mg per day doses of buprenorphine in the maintenance treatment of opium-dependent subjects in Iran over a treatment period of 12 months. Participants were randomized to three equal groups (171 subjects per group) of opium-dependent individuals who met the DSM-IV criteria for opioid dependence and were seeking treatment. They were treated in an urban outpatient clinic, offering a 1-hour weekly individual counseling session.

Cocaine withdrawal symptoms and initial urine toxicology results predict treatment attrition in outpatient cocaine dependence treatment.

This study evaluated the ability of cocaine withdrawal symptoms, measured by the Cocaine Selective Severity Assessment (CSSA) and initial urine toxicology results, to predict treatment attrition among 128 cocaine dependent veterans participating in a 4-week day hospital treatment program. The CSSA was administered and a urine toxicology screen was obtained at intake and at the start of the day hospital (about 1 week later). The combination of a positive urine toxicology screen and a high CSSA score at intake predicted failure to complete treatment.