Abstract
Objectives: The objectives of this study are to assess the tolerability and efficacy of the anticonvulsant zonisamide in an open label trial of the treatment of alcohol dependence. Methods: In this trial, zonisamide (400-mg daily) was administered to alcohol-dependent subjects (ADS) (n = 16) over 13 weeks. The mean daily consumption of standard alcoholic drinks and performance on a verbal fluency task, the COWAT, and on a measure of attention and visuomotor speed, the DSMT were assessed, and the occurrence of adverse events was monitored weekly. Results: The mean number of drinks consumed daily was significantly reduced from baseline levels during the treatment period. Performances on the COWAT and on the DSMT were not significantly reduced by zonisamide treatment. Overall, zonisamide was well tolerated by the study subjects. Conclusion: These results indicate that zonisamide administration may not impair verbal fluency in ADS, and are consistent with other studies that found zonisamide administration may reduce alcohol intake.
Highlights
The anticonvulsant agent topiramate has been shown in placebo-controlled clinical trials to reduce heavy drinking in alcohol dependent individuals [1, 2]
Performances on the Controlled Word Association Test (COWAT) and on the Digit Symbol Modalities Test (DSMT) were not significantly reduced by zonisamide treatment
These results indicate that zonisamide administration may not impair verbal fluency in alcoholdependent subjects (ADS), and are consistent with other studies that found zonisamide administration may reduce alcohol intake
Summary
The anticonvulsant agent topiramate has been shown in placebo-controlled clinical trials to reduce heavy drinking in alcohol dependent individuals [1, 2]. Zonisamide, which has some structural similarity to topiramate [3], may have similar efficacy in the treatment of alcoholism. This drug has been shown to reduce alcohol consumption in mice and rats [4]. Individuals with a history of high risk drinking decreased the amount of ethanol self-administered when treated with a single dose of zonisamide from levels seen with placebo administration [5]. Following one year of zonisamide treatment, deficits in word recall and verbal fluency have been observed in seizure patients
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