Baclofen® as Anti-Craving Agent against Several Addiction

Abstract

The surge in dopamine in ventral striatal regions in response to drugs of abuse and drug associated stimuli is a final common pathway of addiction processes GABAB agonists exert their effects indirectly by quieting dopaminergic afferents The ability of the GABAB agonist baclofen reg to ameliorate nicotine and drug motivated behaviour particularly with respect to its possible utility as a smoking cessation agent This article provides a review of the use of baclofen reg in the treatment for different addiction First we present a brief overview of treatments of addictions for various substances of abuse including alcohol nicotine and cocaine Second part summarizes the state of knowledge about the chemistry and toxicology of cigarette smoke The section on ldquo Chemistry rdquo describes the chemical components of cigarette smoke and addresses aspects of product design Finally we come back to discuss some problems related to properties of baclofen reg that needs to be resolved and our current investigation to improve the therapeutic activity of baclofen reg We conclude by an open question to doctors addictologists and psychiatrists hoping an answer as soon aspossible