Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for Alcoholism

If alcohol is the only reason for a diagnosis of alcoholism, medical attention is often unnecessary. Treatments include counselling about alcohol, referral to supportive-education services, and medication aimed at alleviating or preventing withdrawal symptoms, alcoholism-related impairment, or dependence (including antidepressants) or alcohol's adverse effects. Some alcoholics, however, must seek medical assistance before they can receive appropriate care.

Alcoholic intoxication results in impaired perception, judgement, and memory; reduced learning and processing speed (executive function); and slurred and stumbling speech. Patients also have impaired hand-eye coordination, blurred vision, anterograde and retrograde amnesia, and a state of intoxication can result in confusion and delusions. Decreased mental function leads to decreased judgement and may lead to violent and dangerous behaviours.

The majority of Americans develop alcohol dependence at some point. The United States is among the first nations to recognize and acknowledge the problem of alcohol abuse and dependence in its citizens. In the United States, 15% of the adult population had alcohol dependence as of July, 2003. With the number in demand for alcohol and alcoholics, it is estimated that each year 586,800 new cases will arise.\n

Most people attribute their initiation of alcohol abuse to alcohol's availability in shops and bars, while others are more likely to initiate once having established a lifelong drinking pattern. The reasons are complex, but it is clear that more research is needed into what influences the development of drinking behavior as a way to develop a preventive treatment to prevent alcoholism.

Although no cure exists, we have a good understanding that alcoholism-related symptoms, like alcoholic cirrhosis, can be managed by abstinence and the use of medications. We also have effective treatment methods for alcoholism, including medication-assisted detoxification and twelve-step programs of care. We feel that these approaches may help prevent alcoholism's devastating effects in the future.

Alcoholism usually occurs with a mental, nervous and emotional disturbance. It is most likely to be passed on by a close relative. It is a disease that can be treated, but the cure is not a complete cure. Alcoholism causes a great loss of money to people, the family, employers, and society in general.

The present findings suggest that genetic differences may influence drinking in a manner that facilitates alcohol use whereas alcohol abuse may be determined by environmental factors, such as alcohol education, family environment, and cultural norms in addition to a genetic predisposition.

Alcoholism remains a difficult and challenging health problem in both the United States and Europe. There is a significant need for effective treatments for alcoholism. Several lines of research have produced promising new drug targets and a few new drugs, including amodiaquine, carrasalazine, disulfiram, and diprenorphine. Although the drug sertraline, originally labeled as an antidepressant, shows significant promise in animal models of alcoholism, the development of this drug for the treatment and/or prevention of alcoholism has been discontinued. Current clinical investigation of amodiaquine, diprenorphine, disulfiram and other antimalarial drugs may lead to a more effective, safe, and inexpensive treatment for alcoholism.

For any given individual with depression or alcohol dependence, rtms is not typically used in combination with another treatment. Because our study included a significant proportion of individuals with comorbid alcohol dependence, we can not preclude the possibility that this is the exception. At present, the safety and efficacy of rtms in combination with other treatments need further investigation, as does the utility of this technique as a novel and innovative treatment for depression and alcohol dependence.

We found that repetitive [transcranial magnetic stimulation](https://www.withpower.com/clinical-trials/transcranial-magnetic-stimulation) is a safe and efficacious treatment for alcohol dependence with or without comorbid psychiatric or medical conditions, but no clinical trials have yet described long-term effectiveness. It has been employed in randomized controlled trials with moderate success in alcoholism. Most research on this form of treatment is of short duration and larger and longer-term studies are needed to determine the degree of treatment effectiveness in alcoholics.

Overall, alcoholism is not a curable illness. However, one possible cure for alcoholism could be an alcohol use disorder (AUD). In terms of managing alcohol withdrawal symptoms, an effective alcohol detox protocol can minimize physical complications from alcohol withdrawal. The use of medication is being promoted as being effective in preventing alcohol relapse. For individuals who are still struggling with their AUDs, medication may be an avenue to treatment, if there is a combination of adequate mental health support, alcohol dependence counseling, and recovery medication. If prescribed, medications can be effective in lowering alcohol use, with several drugs being approved for this purpose. Most of the major medications are prescribed in combination with some sort of therapy.