Is it time for baclofen to be included in the official recommendations concerning the treatment of alcoholism?

Alcohol dependence and its treatment is not an exactly resolved problem. Based on the EZOP [Epidemiology of Mental Disorders and Accessibility of Mental Health Care] survey, which included a regular analysis of the incidence of mental disorders in the population of adult Polish citizens, we were able to estimate that the problem of alcohol abuse in any period of life affects even 10.9% of the population aged 18-64 years, and those addicted represent 2.2% of the country’s population. The typical symptoms of alcohol dependence according to ICD-10, include alcohol craving, impaired ability to control alcohol consumption, withdrawal symptoms which appear when a heavy drinker stops drinking, alternating alcohol tolerance, growing neglect of other areas of life, and persistent alcohol intake despite clear evidence of its destructive effect on life. At the moment, the primary method of alcoholism treatment is psychotherapy. It aims to change the patient’s habits, behaviours, relationships, or the way of thinking. It seems that psychotherapy is irreplaceable in the treatment of alcoholism, but for many years now attempts have been made to increase the effectiveness of alcoholism treatment with pharmacological agents. In this article we will try to provide a description of medications which help patients sustain abstinence in alcoholism therapy with particular emphasis on baclofen.