Non-specific effect of naltrexone on ethanol consumption in social drinkers |
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Authors: | H de Wit Johanna Svenson Aaron York |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Psychiatry, The University of Chicago, MC3077, 5841 S. Maryland Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA, e-mail: hdew@midway.uchicago.edu, Fax: +1-773-702-6454, US |
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Abstract: | Rationale: Clinical studies have shown that the opioid antagonist naltrexone is effective in the treatment of alcoholism. However,
the mechanism by which it produces this effect is not understood. Objective: This study was designed to investigate the effect of acute naltrexone on consumption of ethanol in healthy, non-problem
social drinkers. Methods: Subjects (n=24) participated in an eight-session, within-subject, placebo-controlled choice procedure which measured ethanol preference
and consumption. The procedure consisted of two blocks of four sessions in which subjects received either naltrexone (50 mg
oral) or placebo 1 h before consuming an ethanol or placebo beverage. On the first two sessions of each block, subjects received
a color-coded beverage containing ethanol (0.75 g/kg) or placebo, in five equal portions at 15-min intervals. On the next
two sessions of each block, subjects chose which beverage they preferred (i.e., placebo or ethanol) and how much they wished
to take, in unit doses (placebo or ethanol 0.15 g/kg/dose). The primary behavioral measures were (1) the number of times subjects
chose ethanol over placebo, and (2) the number of doses they consumed. Subjects rated their mood states and subjective drug
effects at regular intervals during each session. Results: Naltrexone did not alter the frequency of ethanol (versus placebo) choice. Although naltrexone did decrease the total number
of ethanol doses subjects took (mean 2.7 doses after naltrexone; 3.4 doses after placebo), it also decreased the number of
placebo ”doses” subjects took on sessions when they chose the placebo beverage (mean 1.6 placebo doses after naltrexone; 2.8
doses after placebo). Ethanol produced its prototypic subjective effects (e.g., increased ratings of ”feel drug”, ”like drug”
and ”high”), and these effects were not altered by naltrexone. Naltrexone produced mild sedative-like effects, and several
subjects reported adverse effects such as nausea. Conclusions: These findings show that naltrexone reduces ethanol consumption in healthy volunteers, as it does in alcoholics. However,
this reduction was not specific to alcohol; subjects also consumed less of a non-alcoholic, placebo beverage. These findings
suggest that naltrexone may reduce alcohol consumption by a non-specific mechanism.
Received: 17 September 1998 / Final version: 14 April 1999 |
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Keywords: | Ethanol Social drinker Naltrexone Opioid antagonist Preference Subjective effect |
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