Differential effects of viqualine on alcohol intake and other consummatory behaviors

Abstract

Viqualine, a serotonin releaser and uptake inhibitor, was studied for its effects on consummatory behaviors (intake of ethanol and nonalcoholic beverages, cigarette smoking, and changes in body weight) in 29 men who were early-stage problem drinkers between 21 to 55 years of age. Subjects were randomly assigned to receive a placebo and either 100 mg/day viqualine (n = 15) or 200 mg/day viqualine (n = 14) orally in a double-blind crossover study. Viqualine administration and ethanol intake were assessed by self-reports and by measurement of drug and ethanol concentrations in body fluids. Compared with placebo, 100 mg/day viqualine did not decrease ethanol intake. However, 200 mg/day viqualine significantly decreased the total number of drinks consumed in a 14-day period (F1,12 = 5.3; p less than 0.05). An increase in the number of abstinent days was significant only for those subjects who received the placebo first (F1,6 = 11.3, p less than 0.02). Subjects reported a decreased interest in and decreased desire for alcohol during viqualine treatment. Patterns of response varied, but 64% of the subjects decreased the number of alcoholic drinks consumed and/or increased the number of days of abstinence by at least 25% during treatment with 200 mg/day viqualine compared with placebo treatment. Neither dose of viqualine had an effect on cigarette smoking or on consumption of nonalcoholic beverages, but subjects showed significant decreases in body weight with both doses. These findings indicate that viqualine both attenuates ethanol intake and reduces body weight in human beings.

Naltrexone vs. Nefazodone for Treatment of Alcohol Dependence A Placebo-Controlled Trial

“…The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) zimelidine, citalopram, viqualine, and fluoxetine were shown to produce modest decreases in alcohol consumption in nondepressed heavy drinkers (Naranjo et al 1984(Naranjo et al , 1987(Naranjo et al , 1989(Naranjo et al , 1990. However, when fluvoxamine was combined with cognitive-behavioral therapy to treat alcohol dependence, the medication was poorly tolerated and seemed to be unsuitable for use among patients with this disorder (Kranzler et al 1993).…”

The Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Sertraline Reduces Excessive Alcohol Consumption in Nonhuman Primates: Effect of Stress

“…On the remaining 3 days of separation, the animals' behaviors were recorded in the morning, prior to alcohol exposure. Plasma sertraline concentrations were quantified at Pfizer laboratories using the method described by Tremaine (Tremaine and Joerg 1989).Preclinical studies suggest that the reduction in alcohol consumption by SSRIs such as sertraline is part of a general pattern of overall reduction in food and liquid intake (Lucki et al 1988;Higgins et al 1992), and in humans, SSRI treatment sometimes produces weight loss (Naranjo et al 1989). To assess the possibility that sertraline produced its effects by simply reducing all consummatory behaviors including alcohol intake, daily food intake and weekly weight were recorded in all subjects.…”

Serotonin-altering medications and desire, consumption and effects of alcohol-treatment implications

“…Decreases in desire to drink were also reported in some clinical trials (Amit et al, 1985;Gorelick and Paredes, 1992;Naranjo et al, 1989), leading to the testing of citalopram and fluoxetine in an experimental paradigm designed to assess interest, desire and liking of alcohol. The results indicated that decreases in interest and desire (urge to drink) and liking (reinforcing effects) of alcohol may mediate the effect of serotonin uptake inhibitors (Naranjo el al., 1992a;1992b).…”