Baclofen a cure for Alcoholism?
posted in - Offbeat news, - Palmdoc |
The BBC reports that France is Abuzz over a doctor who used this drug to beat his addiction to alcohol.
Dr Olivier Ameisen, 55, one of France’s top heart specialists, says he overcame his own addiction to alcohol by self-administering doses of a muscle-relaxant called baclofen.
He has now written a book about his experience – Le Dernier Verre (The Last Glass) – in which he calls for clinical trials to test his theory that baclofen suppresses the craving for drink.
Widespread media coverage of his book in France has led to a rush of demands from alcoholics for similar treatment, and some doctors have reported unexpected successes after prescribing it.
But many other specialists are sceptical, warning of the dangers of so-called miracle cures.
Baclofen is drug used as a muscle relaxant e.g. for spasticity. It is sometimes used for relief of hiccups, neuralgias and in Huntington’s chorea. The quoted maximal dose is 80 mg and in the news article the French doctor “increased the daily dosage to a maximum of 270mg, and found that he was “cured”. Today he continues to take 30 to 50mg a day”
I would remain sceptical until there is more information.
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