By Megan Gannon, News EditorPublished: 11/07/2013 08:55 AM EST on LiveScienceA drug typically used t...

1. Epilepsy Drug Gabapentin Shows Promise In Treating
Alcohol Dependence
By Megan Gannon, News Editor
Published: 11/07/2013 08:55 AM EST on LiveScience
A drug typically used to treat epilepsy may also be
effective in treating alcoholism, the results of a clinical
trial suggest.
Alcohol-dependent patients who took gabapentin, an
anticonvulsant medication, were more likely to stop
drinking or at least abstain from heavy drinking than
those taking a placebo, the study found. What's more,
participants receiving gabapentin also slept better,
showed improvements in mood and had fewer alcohol
cravings, with few side effects, the researchers said.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), 18 million people in the United States are
affected by alcohol-use disorders, but there are few drug options available. [7 Ways Alcohol Affects
Your Health]
There are just three medications used to treat alcohol dependence that have been approved by the
Food and Drug Administration. One drug called disulfiram discourages drinking by making it quite
unpleasant -- it blocks the metabolism of alcohol and causes nausea, vomiting and other nasty side
effects when a person drinks.
Another medication, acamprosate, is thought to help restore the chemical balance in the brains of
alcohol-dependent people after they stop drinking, and the third, naltrexone, blocks the brain's opiod
receptors and has been shown to ease addicts' cravings for drugs and alcohol.
Gabapentin showed similar or greater positive outcomes compared with these existing treatments,
said study researcher Barbara Mason, of the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif.
"Plus, it's the only medication shown to improve sleep and mood in people who are quitting or
reducing their drinking, and it's already widely used in primary care -- that's an appealing
combination," Mason explained in a statement.
Patients in the trial were randomly assigned to receive a moderate dose (900 milligrams) or high
dose (1,800 milligrams) of gabapentin, or a placebo during a 12-week course of treatment.
Compared with people in the placebo group, alcohol-dependent participants using the high dose of
gabapentin were twice as likely to refrain from heavy drinking, and four times as likely to stop
drinking altogether, the researchers said. The smaller dose of gabapentin produced less dramatic

2. results.
The researchers reported that patients in the clinical trial experienced few negative side effects. The
NIH says the side effects of gabapentin include drowsiness, anxiety, headaches and nausea.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, part of the NIH, funded the study. It was
detailed this month in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.
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