Patients must also be opiate free for 7 to 10 days prior to initiation in order to prevent severe withdrawal reactions. If naltrexone is intended for use as treatment of acute with-drawal symptoms, use of clonidine in combination with naltrexone reduces the severity of acute opioid with-drawal during detoxification. Behavioral therapy Behavioral therapies constitute an extremely important component of substance abuse treatment by helping to retain patients in treatment and improvement in

abstinence.158 Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical These therapies form the platform for any pharmacotherapy in order to engage the patient and facilitate more long-term changes including prevention of relapse.159,160 Contingency management (CM) deserves special mention Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical because it has been successful to initiate abstinence and prevent relapse with many drugs of abuse, particularly for managing cocaine- and amphetamine-abusing individuals,161-165 regardless

of psychiatric severity.166 Improvement in study retention, as well as associated abstinence outcomes in substance abusers, has been found in randomized clinical trials of cocaine users163,166 and in cocaine and methadone-maintained cocaine abusers.163 CM has also been successful in studies of alcohol-abusing subjects, as well as those with polysubstance dependence or abuse.71,72,75,167 Community-based efforts Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical using CM have also been successful in improving retention and associated abstinence outcomes.165 There is however, a significantly higher cost associated with the incentives group versus usual care group,168 and therefore the utility of CM In real-world settings should be further evaluated based on cost-effectiveness. Cognitive Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical behavior therapy (CBT) is also an efficacious intervention for the treatment of substance abuse. In a pilot study CBT was examined in conjunction with pharmacotherapy to evaluate length of treatment, drug-free urinalyses, and reduction of alcohol and cocaine craving. Though CBT-treated subjects remained Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical in treatment longer than subjects who received both dlsulflram/CBT or naltrexone/CBT, the combination

treatment Selleckchem AZD9291 groups achieved significantly greater reductions in cocaine positive urinalyses.169 Where CM may be useful in engaging substance users and attaining abstinence more quickly, CBT has better long-term treatment retention and Is comparable to below CM In helping patients ultimately achieve abstinence.170 Conclusion Substantial progress has been made in the development of pharmacotherapeutic options for substance use disorders. Table I summarizes the current therapeutic options for the substances of abuse mentioned in this review. Taken alone, in combination with other medications, or in conjunction with behavioral therapies, effective treatment options are available in the areas of nicotine, alcohol, cocaine, and opioid abuse. Preliminary studies on new medications and vaccines are promising for the future. Table I.