A French doctor, Dr. Oliver Ameisen, is making headlines with his claim that he managed to overcome his own dependence on alcohol with a treatment called baclofen, a muscle-relaxant.
People who struggle with alcoholism know that simply saying no isn’t an easy task. Addictions to alcoholism and drugs can cause people to do dangerous things to fulfill their cravings, and there’s no easy cure.
However, a French doctor, Dr. Oliver Ameisen, is making headlines with his claim that he managed to overcome his own dependence on alcohol with a treatment called baclofen, a muscle-relaxant. Although his self-experiment hasn’t been confirmed with clinical trials at this point, he’s written a book called Le Dernier Verre (The Last Glass) about his own experiences.
“Mine is the first case in which a course of medicine has completely suppressed alcohol addiction,” he writes in the book. “Now I can have a glass and it has no effect. Above all, I no longer have that irrepressible need to drink.”
Reactions to Dr. Ameisen’s book have been mixed, with many doctors claiming that he is irresponsible for recommending an untested treatment. However, some doctors have prescribed baclofen to their own alcoholic patients with very successful results: “I prescribed it to two alcoholics who were really at the end of the road. To be honest, it was pretty miraculous,” Dr. Renaud de Beaurepaire told BBC News.
While many physicians urge that the drug alone will not solve the underlying problem, further research into baclofen could prove the drug to be a crucial aid in the treatment of alcoholism.
“We cannot ignore findings such as this,” said Dr. Pascal Garche, who successfully treated several patients with baclofen. “The book is going to set the cat among the pigeons.”