Study: Disulfuram Effective for Cocaine AddictionMarch 5, 2004
Research Summary
New research finds that medication used to treat alcohol addiction is also effective for treating cocaine addiction when combined with behavioral therapy, according to a March 1 news release from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).For the study, 121 cocaine-dependent individuals were given either disulfiram, a medication commonly used to treat alcohol addiction, or a placebo. Participants also received either cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) in individual sessions during the 12-week project.
Researchers from the Yale University School of Medicine found that participants given disulfiram significantly reduced their cocaine use compared to those given a placebo. Furthermore, participants who received disulfiram and CBT showed a greater reduction in cocaine use compared with those who received disulfiram and IPT.
"About 60 percent of people dependent on cocaine also abuse alcohol, so it was thought you could reduce cocaine abuse by targeting the accompanying codependence on alcohol," said NIDA Director Dr. Nora D. Volkow. "But these results suggest that disulfiram exerts a direct effect on cocaine use, rather than reducing concurrent alcohol use. More research is needed about whether combining disulfiram with CBT provides an even more effective tool for treating cocaine dependence."
The study's findings are published in the March 2004 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
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