| Studies and research projects on addiction issues the | | | | that all of them were able to cut down greatly by the |
| recent years, have found that medications that lower | | | | end of the experiment. |
| the level of serotonin in the brain may help in alcohol | | | | The report showed also that, among those who |
| treatment. This of alcohol medication treatment offers | | | | finished the study, participants who had started drinking |
| first and foremost a short-term solution for severe | | | | and developed problems at an earlier age improved |
| alcoholics. | | | | the most. This has raised even more questions about |
| Ondansetron is originally a drug used to stop nausea | | | | this biological basis for alcoholism. |
| that has been found to be effective against drinking. | | | | Those who took ondansetron were able to lower their |
| According to researchers of University of Texas | | | | alcohol intake, down to 1 1/2 drinks per day on |
| Health Science Center, this medicine helps those who | | | | average. Those who took the placebo were able to |
| develop alcoholism before the age of 25 to quit | | | | cut down to an average of about 3 1/2 drinks per day. |
| drinking and keep off the bottle. | | | | This, too, supports the drug's effectiveness. |
| Modern medical researchers see the cause of | | | | For those participants who began to drink later in life, |
| alcoholism as biological. There are certain biological | | | | no improvement was shown. This may have |
| tendencies, they claim, that make an individual | | | | something to do with how alcoholism develops, the |
| susceptible to alcoholism and other types of drug | | | | researchers said. |
| addiction compared to the average population. | | | | The way ondansetron works is that it blocks the |
| An experimental medical study was conducted using | | | | neurotransmitter serotonin. This, in turn, has an effect |
| 271 volunteers in Texas in the early 1990's. Most of the | | | | on other neurotransmitters, such as dopamine. We |
| volunteers were white, middle-aged males alcoholics | | | | now know exactly which chemicals in the brain cause |
| who were looking for ways to quit drinking. For the | | | | alcoholism, but reducing the activity of these |
| eleven weeks this experiment lasted, half the | | | | neurotransmitters has been shown to be effective. |
| participants were given ondansetron, and the other half | | | | To place this issue in a larger picture we might say |
| were given a placebo. During the course of this | | | | that this is just one of many new breakthroughs that |
| experiment, all received relevant group therapy | | | | help us to understand how addiction and alcoholism in |
| sessions every week. | | | | particular works. Each new study or research project |
| Throughout the study, the participants were carefully | | | | sheds light on the biological basis of alcoholism. |
| monitored. Their alcohol consumption was measured | | | | Through knowledge developments such as these, we |
| by blood and urine tests. Participants also did | | | | may yet find an effective method to treat alcoholism |
| self-reports. Around 60 percent of the participants did | | | | once and for all. |
| not make it through all the 11 weeks, but it was noted | | | | |