The only study available on disulfiram showed reduced REM sleep .
Acamprosate showed no/little effect on self-reported sleep but improved sleep continuity and architecture measured by polysomnography .
The two opioidergic drugs naltrexone and nalmefene had mainly detrimental effect on sleep , giving increased insomnia and /or somnolence compared with placebo , although not always significant .
The meta- analysis confirmed significantly increased somnolence and insomnia in the naltrexone group , compared with the placebo .
Overall , the currently available evidence s show more sleep problems with the opioidergic drugs ( especially naltrexone ) , while acamprosate seems to be well tolerated or even beneficial .
Acamprosate might be a more suitable choice when patients with AUD report sleep problems .
Background : Sleep disorders are commonly associated with acute and chronic use of alcohol and with abstinence .
To date , there are four approved drugs to treat alcohol use disorder ( AUD ) : disulfiram , acamprosate , naltrexone , and nalmefene .
These AUD therapies reduce the craving and risk of relapse into heavy drinking , but little is known about their effect on sleep .
As recent evidence s indicate a crucial role of sleep disorders in AUD , cl aim ing that sleep problems may trigger alcohol abuse and relapses , it is fundamental to clarify the impact of those drugs on the sleep quality of AUD patients .
This systematic review aims to answer the question : how does the pharmacotherapy for AUD affect sleep ?
Acamprosate in Korean alcohol-dependent patients: a multi-centre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
AIMS A multi-centre , r and omized , double-blind , placebo-controlled trial was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and the safety of acamprosate over 8 weeks in Korean alcohol-dependent patients . METHODS One hundred and forty-two alcohol-dependent patients in 12 centres were r and omized to 8 weeks treatment with either acamprosate ( n = 72 ) or a placebo ( n = 70 ) in combination with out-patient psychosocial intervention .  They were predominantly male ( 95.8 % ) , with a mean age of 44.3 + /- 8.3 years ; 76.1 % were married ; 59.9 % were employed ; 58.5 % had received previous alcoholism treatment ( previous mean number of admissions in alcoholism in-patient programmes 4.6 + /- 6.9 ) . At visits to the clinic ( weekly for 4 weeks , then biweekly for 4 weeks ) , a record was made of alcohol use ( Time-Line Follow-Back ) , alcohol craving using a Korean version of the Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale and a visual analogue scale , and adverse events . Serum aspartate aminotransferase , alanine aminotransferase , gamma-glutamyltransferase ( GGT ) , blood urea nitrogen and creatinine levels were measured on weeks 0 , 2 , 4 and 8 . RESULTS In the acamprosate group ( A ) , 71.4 % had had alcohol within the 2 days prior to starting medication , against 65.2 % of patients in the placebo group ( P ) ; ( P > 0.05 ) . One hundred and one subjects ( 71.1 % ) completed 8-weeks of treatment ( A , 73.6 % ; P , 68.6 % ; P > 0.05 ) . During the 8-week treatment period , 37 , ( A ) ( n = 72 ) and 32 % ( P ) ( n = 70 ) achieved continuous abstinence ( P > 0.05 ) , and 40 , ( A ) and 39 % ( P ) remained without relapse ( P > 0.05 ) ( defined as a day when a man consumed five or more drinks or a woman four or more drinks ) . The percentage of days abstinent during the 8-week treatment period was 81.2 , ( A ) and 78.5 % ( P ) ( P > 0.05 ) , and the percentage of days without heavy drinking 86.1 ( A ) and 84.9 % ( P ) ( P > 0.05 ) . The mean amount drunk per drinking occasion was 7.2 , ( A ) and 8.6 st and ard drinks ( P ) ( P > 0.05 ) . No statistically significant differences in changes in the serum GGT level or craving scores from baseline to the end-point of treatment were found between the two groups . Recency of drinking prior to commencing study drug predicted percentage of days abstinent in the first 2 weeks on treatment ; however , when ANOVAs were conducted using treatment outcomes as a dependent variable , medication condition as an independent variable and the period of abstinence prior to treatment as a covariate , a significant effect of medication condition was still not seen . CONCLUSIONS Acamprosate was ineffective in reducing drinking  in this Korean sample . The result differs from that of most European acamprosate trials . This might be explained by our sample 's relatively severe alcohol dependence , and low social support , or the fact that many patients were still drinking near to their first medication . The variability of the psychosocial support , ethnicity ( which might also affect acamprosate pharmacokinetics ) and the Korean drinking style , which differs from that of Europeans , might have contributed to our negative result
The only study available on disulfiram showed reduced REM sleep .
Acamprosate showed no/little effect on self-reported sleep but improved sleep continuity and architecture measured by polysomnography .
The two opioidergic drugs naltrexone and nalmefene had mainly detrimental effect on sleep , giving increased insomnia and /or somnolence compared with placebo , although not always significant .
The meta- analysis confirmed significantly increased somnolence and insomnia in the naltrexone group , compared with the placebo .
Overall , the currently available evidence s show more sleep problems with the opioidergic drugs ( especially naltrexone ) , while acamprosate seems to be well tolerated or even beneficial .
Acamprosate might be a more suitable choice when patients with AUD report sleep problems .
Background : Sleep disorders are commonly associated with acute and chronic use of alcohol and with abstinence .
To date , there are four approved drugs to treat alcohol use disorder ( AUD ) : disulfiram , acamprosate , naltrexone , and nalmefene .
These AUD therapies reduce the craving and risk of relapse into heavy drinking , but little is known about their effect on sleep .
As recent evidence s indicate a crucial role of sleep disorders in AUD , cl aim ing that sleep problems may trigger alcohol abuse and relapses , it is fundamental to clarify the impact of those drugs on the sleep quality of AUD patients .
This systematic review aims to answer the question : how does the pharmacotherapy for AUD affect sleep ?