Exploring Baclofen for Alcoholism
Alcoholism claims three hundred lives per day in the United States alone. Finding a cure could save more than one-hundred thousand people per year Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker’s health, personal relationships, and social standing. Alcoholism is medically considered a disease, specifically a neurological disorder, sometimes medically called “alcohol abuse” or “alcohol dependence.” To date, there are some standardized treatments that work for alcoholics, but not for others, and a cure is not medically recognized (Ameisen, 2009). Many cures have been proposed over the years; this research centers on a brilliant cardiologist, Dr. Oliver Ameisen, who developed a profound addiction to alcohol, and will show controlled studies using Baclofen to reduce cravings for alcohol. Dr. Ameisen, an alcoholic himself, did the only thing that he could; he took his treatment into his own hands.
Dr. Olivier Ameisen
Dr. Ameisen was born in 1953. He came to New York in 1983 to join the prestigious cardiology team at New York Hospital and Cornell University Medical Center. Here he became the associate professor of clinical medicine and an associate attending physician. Dr. Ameisen gained his U.S. citizenship in 1991. Dr. Ameisen had a thriving practice (Ameisen, M.D., 2009). He also suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from a childhood that was shadowed by his parent’s horrific experiences during the Holocaust. Dr. Ameisen’s life eventually was consumed by his drinking. He was on the edge of losing everything when he began to research treatments that may lead to a cure. Against medical advice, he began to administer himself low doses of Baclofen. He immediately saw a change in his cravings.
References: (2007). Baclofen suppresses alcohol intake and craving for alcohol in a schizophrenic alcohol-dependent patient: a case report. Journal of clinical psychopharmacology, 27(3), 319-320. This is the third case report in “The end of My Addiction” Ameisen, M.D., O. (2009). The end of my addiction. (First ed.). New York: Sarah Crichton Books, Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Bucknam, W. (2007). Suppression of symptoms of alcohol dependence and craving using high-dose Baclofen. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 42(2), 158-160. This is the second case report in “The End of My Addiction”