Almost 300 million individuals worldwide suffer from alcohol use disorder (AUD), a grave ailment that accounts for more than 5% of fatalities. Unfortunately, very few persons who successfully overcome their addiction stay sober over the long term. However, a recent study suggests ketamine may be a valuable intervention for treating alcohol use disorder and alcohol withdrawal. In the study, 96 individuals who had problems with alcohol use in the past but weren’t drinking at the moment were investigated by researchers. According to the research, people who received treatment and ketamine for six months were entirely sober for 162 of the 180 days of the study. Researchers noted that the 87 percent abstinence rate was much more significant than other categories. But to better understand how ketamine assisted therapy for AUD can work, let’s explain everything in more detail.
What is AUD?
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a medical illness marked by a decreased capacity to reduce or regulate alcohol use in the face of adverse social, professional, or health effects. The terms “alcohol abuse,” “alcohol dependence,” “addiction,” and “alcoholism” are all used to describe disorders that are included in this category. AUD is a neurological condition that can vary in intensity from mild to severe. Alcohol abuse causes long-lasting alterations in the brain that keep AUD alive and leave sufferers susceptible to relapse. The good news is that AUD patients can achieve and sustain recovery with evidence-based treatment using behavioral treatments, mutual-support groups, and medicines, regardless of how bad the condition may appear.
To better understand the issue, we can tell you that AUD symptoms include having difficulty limiting or reducing your drinking, maintaining a drinking habit despite its adverse effects on daily life and relationships, and acting dangerously when intoxicated. Furthermore, those suffering from AUD experience symptoms of withdrawal when the effects of alcohol fade off.
At the same time, frequent and excessive alcohol abuse can harm physical health. It can increase the risk of cancer, heart disease, and liver disease.
How is AUD treated?
There are several evidence-based therapy options available for AUD. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to treatment, and what works for one patient might not work for another. Specialty programs, therapists, and physicians can offer either outpatient or inpatient treatment and can sometimes take the form of both.
Behavioral treatments – You can learn how to improve your behavior through counseling or talk therapy with a healthcare professional like a psychologist or mental health counselor. The most popular approaches are 12-step, contingency, cognitive-behavioral, and motivational programs.
Support groups -You can stay sober by attending group sessions with others with an alcohol use disorder. Meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) are frequently free and accessible in most communities. Furthermore, having family and friends as support is very important, just as having friendly and helpful neighbors in your Southern California community. A supportive and welcoming community and family can help an AUD patient more than they realize.
Medications – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized naltrexone, acamprosate, and disulfiram to help individuals stop or reduce their drinking and avoid relapse. All these drugs are not addictive; you can use them alone or in conjunction with behavioral therapies or peer support groups. However, as mentioned above, ketamine-assisted therapy for AUD might gain popularity as it showed excellent results. So let us dig a bit deeper into the ketamine matter.
What is ketamine?
You must first understand how ketamine can treat depression to realize how ketamine assisted therapy for AUD can work. Ketamine has a lengthy history of use in healthcare facilities. During the 70s, it received its first human use approval as a general anesthetic and a fast-acting analgesic. Before that, clinical studies had demonstrated the drug’s ability to reduce physical pain, but they had also revealed various psychological side effects, such as hallucinations, paranoia, emotional withdrawal, and a sense of patients’ being cut off from their bodies and surroundings.
Small-scale research evaluating ketamine as a therapy for people with severe depression didn’t start until the new millennium. Although the trial only included seven patients, the findings opened the door for more significant investigation. Over the following 20 years, more studies evaluating the drug’s potential for treating depression were conducted. But why is this information important? Because it has been shown that individuals with AUD also have a higher probability of developing depression and vice versa. Those who have depression also have a higher risk of developing AUD.
Why is ketamine-assisted therapy for AUD efficient?
Returning to the study we mentioned earlier, phase II of the KARE trial was the first to investigate whether therapy paired with a modest dosage of ketamine can help prevent individuals from returning to excessive drinking after quitting. The research was carried out by Awakn Life Sciences, a biotech business that studies, creates, and distributes pharmaceuticals to treat addiction with a concentration on alcohol use disorder. Patients with a severe alcohol use problem were randomly assigned to one of four groups for the study:
- three weekly ketamine doses, along with therapy
- psychological counseling and three saline injections
- alcohol education and three ketamine infusions
- alcohol education and three saline infusions
The patients received treatment over four weeks with a follow-up of six months. Moreover, Awakn organized the trial so that they could determine if ketamine alone was successful or whether it was crucial to combine it with psychological treatment. After those six months, patients in the therapy and ketamine group managed to maintain abstinence for 162 days. As a result, treating people with alcohol addiction may be best accomplished by combining ketamine with psychological therapy. As this study shows, adding ketamine enhances the therapy’s effectiveness.
Final thoughts
Sadly, many alcoholics don’t want to stop drinking since they think it would demand rigorous, long-term abstinence. As a result, this prevents them from getting treatment. Ketamine, on the other hand, could change AUD patients’ relationships with alcohol. It allows them to cut back on drinking to extremely low-risk levels. Therefore, ketamine-assisted therapy for AUD can be a lifesaver for many people suffering from AUD. So if you or a loved one have an alcohol use disorder, don’t hesitate to seek help. Experts in addiction recovery can help you regain control over your life faster and easier than you might expect.