New horizons for therapeutics in drug and alcohol abuse

Abstract

Alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug dependence represents a serious health and social issue within the community. As drug dependence has become more widely recognized as a clinical disorder and the severity of the problem been fully realized, options available for treatment have grown along with our understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the development and persistence of addiction. Treatment has progressed from purely social and behavioral approaches to now encompass pharmacotherapy to attempt to disrupt the mechanisms underlying these disorders. Despite these advances, many forms of addiction lack effective therapeutics and the prevalence of this disorder remains unaccept..