<blockquote class='posterous_long_quote'>Disulfiram was the first medication approved for the treatment of alcoholism over 50 years ago. It works, at least in part, by preventing the metabolism of an alcohol by-product, acetaldehyde. High levels of acetaldehyde in the body quickly cause unpleasant symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, headache, and accelerated heart rate. Thus, disulfiram provides a very strong incentive to avoid drinking.
Disulfiram was effective in reducing cocaine use in patients with the CC genotype and normal DβH levels, whereas those with the low DβH level T genotype showed no disulfiram effect. These data support the hypothesis that disulfiram reduces drug consumption, in part, by blocking DβH.
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