Natural and complementary therapies for substance use disorders

Current Opinion in Psychiatry
Angela J Dean

Abstract

To review recent studies that have examined the efficacy of natural and complementary therapies as treatments for substance use disorders and their complications. Despite increasing interest in natural and complementary therapies for substance use disorders, rigorous clinical studies in this area are few in number. Recent clinical studies, although preliminary, have reported potential therapeutic effects for hypericum in the treatment of smoking cessation, for prickly pear extract in the prevention of alcohol hangover and magnesium supplementation as an adjunct to methadone treatment. Other clinical studies have reported negative findings for ginkgo as an adjunctive treatment for cocaine dependence, for artichoke in prevention of alcohol hangover, and acupuncture for alcohol withdrawal. Relevant findings from animal studies are also discussed. Neither vitamin E nor Liv 52 had a useful effect in alcohol-related liver disease. A study of silymarin in baboons, which was undertaken in an attempt to untangle the conflicting findings of human studies, reported a potential for this compound to prevent liver injury. There is increasing awareness of safety issues associated with complementary therapies. Safety issues pertinent to substa...Continue Reading

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