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In an occasional column, Journal Watch Psychiatry editors briefly comment on review articles. These annotations were written by Deborah Cowley, MD, Barbara Geller, MD, Peter Roy-Byrne, MD, and M. Katherine Shear, MD.
Naltrexone for alcohol dependence. This writer reviews the pathophysiology of alcohol dependence and evidence for efficacy, use, and side effects of naltrexone, a μ-opioid–receptor antagonist, for treating this disorder.1 Although he describes the ideal patient for naltrexone (a patient with moderate-to-severe alcohol dependence who has been abstinent for several days before starting naltrexone), he does not clarify when one would choose naltrexone versus other psychopharmacologic treatments, such as acamprosate, disulfiram, or …