ALCOHOLISM DRUG FOUND EFFECTIVE AGAINST COCAINE HABIT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Buprenorphine, an alternative to methadone in
treating opiate addiction, is more effective when combined with the
alcoholism treatment disulfiram than when used alone to treat people
with addictions to both heroin and cocaine, according to a study
published in Biological Psychiatry.

More than 50% of people addicted to opiates, which include heroin and
morphine, are also addicted to cocaine, the authors of the study wrote.

``While it is known that Antabuse (disulfiram) produces an aversion to
alcohol, this study could herald an important breakthrough in treating
cocaine addiction,'' Dr. Alan Leshner, director of the National
Institute on Drug Abuse, said in a statement. ``If disulfiram reduces
the pleasurable effects of cocaine, as it does those of alcohol, it
could be a powerful deterrent to cocaine use and a very useful adjunct
therapy.''

Previous research has shown that either buprenorphine or methadone
alone is effective in reducing opiate use, but neither is effective in
reducing concurrent cocaine use by opiate-dependent
individuals.

The study, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and
conducted by Dr. Tony George and his colleagues at the Yale University
School of Medicine, found that participants who received a combination
of disulfiram and buprenorphine abstained from cocaine use for longer
periods of time than those who received only buprenorphine.

Those receiving both disulfiram and buprenorphine also achieved three
weeks of continuous cocaine abstinence sooner than those who received
buprenorphine alone.

No significant differences were found in the total weeks of opiate
abstinence between the disulfiram/buprenorphine and the
buprenorphine-only group. If a person uses cocaine after taking
disulfiram, the user feels anxious and paranoid, rather than the
euphoria associated with the drug.

Buprenorphine, co-developed by Reckitt and Colman Plc and the National
Institute on Drug Abuse, has reached the final stages of the Food and
Drug Administration's approval process for new drugs. Reckitt and
Colman is part of the Anglo-Dutch consumer products company Reckitt
Benckiser Plc .

In the study, 20 individuals addicted to both opiates and cocaine were
placed on buprenorphine maintenance therapy. While all the
participants continued to receive buprenorphine, 11 were randomly
assigned to receive disulfiram and nine were assigned to placebo for
12 weeks of treatment. Of the 20 individuals enrolled, 15 completed
the study--eight of those assigned to disulfiram and seven who had
been randomized to placebo.

Larger, controlled studies of disulfiram for treating cocaine
addiction are planned in buprenorphine-maintained participants.