A 1986 study found that Antabuse did not improve abstinence rates, length of time to relapse, or psychosocial functioning any more than counseling alone. But, patients on Antabuse who continued to drink drank less frequently than relapsed patients who did not receive the medication. ReVia was developed by The DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical Co., which previously marketed naltrexone under the trade name Trexan for treating narcotic dependency. The drug remains available for treating narcotic dependency but under the new brand name, ReVia. A study of 104 alcoholic men and women found that patients who took ReVia were about twice as successful in quitting drinking as patients who received placebo.
Studies show the drug is nonaddictive.
But it can cause liver toxicity when given at doses higher than recommended. Therefore, it is not recommended for people with active hepatitis and other liver diseases. Though treatments are helping make controlling alcoholism easier, a cure is more elusive. Instead, he said, research will continue to focus on finding drugs that can treat various aspects of alcoholism. And just as with arthritis, in which various inflammatory agents can be used to treat an acute episode, there will be more drugs developed to help alcoholics get and stay on the road to recovery.