Patient preferences and perspectives regarding reducing alcohol consumption: role of nalmefene
نویسندگان
چکیده
Alcohol use disorder is a major public health issue. The absolute mortality burden of alcohol-attributable death has increased over the last 20 years. However, access to care remains very poor and many people with alcohol use disorder are untreated. The main limiting factor for access to care in alcohol use disorder appears to be the reluctance to engage in abstinence. Risk reduction is a developing approach in the treatment of alcohol use disorders, drawing its inspiration, with quite a delay, from the decades-long dominant approach in other substance use disorders. A paradigm shift has recently occurred that places more of an emphasis on reducing alcohol as a therapeutic strategy for patients with alcohol use disorder, to better meet the patients' preferences and needs. The development and recent approval of nalmefene, in alcohol-dependent adults with a high drinking risk level, contributes to enlarging the therapeutic arsenal for alcohol dependence, strengthening the legitimacy of alcohol reduction strategies.
منابع مشابه
Clinical relevance of as-needed treatment with nalmefene in alcohol-dependent patients.
Nalmefene is the first drug approved for reduction of alcohol consumption. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical relevance of treatment with nalmefene in alcohol-dependent patients with a high drinking risk level from two randomised placebo-controlled 6-month studies (NCT00811720 and NCT00812461). Response criteria were based on alcohol consumption, Clinical Global Impression, and ...
متن کاملOpioid Receptor Antagonists in the Treatment of Alcoholism.
OBJECTIVES On the basis of the recent advances in drug therapy of alcoholism, we conducted a review on opioid receptor antagonist drugs with approved indication for the treatment of alcoholism, such as naltrexone and nalmefene. METHODS We reviewed over 100 publications on peptides and opioid receptors, as well as studies conducted in experimental animals and in humans on the effect of opioid ...
متن کاملEfficacy of As-Needed Nalmefene in Alcohol-Dependent Patients with at Least a High Drinking Risk Level: Results from a Subgroup Analysis of Two Randomized Controlled 6-Month Studies
AIMS The aim of the study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of as-needed use of nalmefene 18 mg versus placebo in reducing alcohol consumption in patients who did not reduce their alcohol consumption after an initial assessment, i.e. the pooled subgroup of patients with at least a high drinking risk level (men: >60 g/day; women: >40 g/day) at both screening and randomization from the t...
متن کاملEvaluation in alcohol use disorders – insights from the nalmefene experience
Nalmefene was the first treatment approved by the European Medicines Agency for reducing alcohol consumption in adult patients with alcohol dependence. It is often presented as a paradigm shift in therapeutics, but major issues limit the interpretation of the evidence supporting its use. The randomised trials submitted provided no evidence of harm reduction, the differences on consumption outco...
متن کامل