Abstract

Drug addiction and alcoholism are behavioural disorders characterized by a profound alteration of several brain circuits induced by chronic drug use. Their treatment is yet based on empiricism and today only few pharmacological strategies are fully effective to control both drug use and relapse. The present paper reviews the most updated pharmacotherapies able to contrast both alcoholism and drug addiction including the new patented drugs and the future therapeutic trends.

Keywords: Alcoholism, addiction, buprenorphine, methadone, suboxone®, naltrexone, gamma-hydroxybutyrrate, nociceptin peptide receptors, CB1 cannabinoid receptors, dopamine