Pharmacotherapies of addiction

OBJECTIVE: Millions of drug addicts worldwide require proper treatment together with good quality care. This article aims to critically review the psychopharmacology of drug addictions.

METHODS: MEDLINE was systematically searched for studies describing drug treatment of addictions. Numerous studies were obtained and grouped according to the drug used to treat addictions.

RESULTS: Although there are many effective antiaddictive drugs in the therapeutic armamentarium of drug addictions, a great number of patients tend to develop poor drug compliance, multiple relapses, and continue to suffer from chronic addictions coupled with negative biopsychosocial consequences.

CONCLUSION: Aside from enhancing the public awareness of the devastating effects of drug addictions through regular and effective mass media campaigns, scientific efforts should be continued in order to develop new antiaddictive drugs with better clinical profiles for the treatment of patients with addictions.