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conferenceseries
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Volume 8, Issue 4 (Suppl)
J Addict Res Ther
ISSN: 2155-6105 JART, an open access journal
Alcoholism 2017
July 03-04, 2017
July 03-04, 2017 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
7
th
International Conference on
Addictive Disorders and
Alcoholism
J Addict Res Ther 2017, 8:4 (Suppl)
DOI: 10.4172/2155-6105-C1-031
Oral and sustained release naltrexone: Improving clinical outcomes for management of problem
alcohol use
Gary Hulse
University of Western Australia, Australia
T
hree oral pharmacotherapies (acamprosate, disulfiram, and naltrexone) are commonly used for the management of alcohol
abuse or dependence. Naltrexone is an opioid antagonist which primarily, but not exclusively, targets the μ-opioid receptor.
Naltrexone likely exerts its actions by blockade of the high concentration of μ-opioid receptors located in areas of the brain that
have been implicated in the reward pathway associated with alcohol. Despite being a relatively effective and safe treatment, the
clinical management of alcohol abuse/dependence by oral naltrexone can be compromised due to the patient’s noncompliance
with daily use of this medication. Over the past decade an increasing body of research has suggested that the use of sustained
release depot naltrexone preparations can overcome this issue and deliver improved clinical outcomes. However, at the same time,
research findings from diverse areas of pharmacogenetics, neurobiology and behavioural psychology have also been converging
to identify variables including genetic markers, patient psychosocial characteristics and drug use history differences that play a
major role inmediating the response of alcohol abuse/dependent persons to treatment by naltrexone. The establishment of clinical
procedures to maximize use of oral formula, and characterization of clinical markers to identify those patients who are most
likely to benefit from naltrexone will ultimately provide significant benefit to both patients and clinicians by optimizing treatment
outcome.
Gary.Hulse@uwa.edu.au