Drugs Used in Substance Use Disorders

Abstract

Substance use disorders (SUD) are under-recognized in the elderly. This chapter will discuss the drugs currently used for the treatment of SUD. For the sake of simplicity, clinical descriptions will be avoided and the focus will be placed almost exclusively on the drugs used to treat these conditions. Those are a heterogeneous group of agents with products exclusively or mainly used to treat SUD and other compounds and agents used in other indications. The lack of studies focused on elderly populations call for a cautious, careful use of pharmacological agents, which must always be accompanied by psychosocial approaches.

Keywords: Acamprosate, Alcohol use disorders, Alcohol withdrawal syndrome, Benzodiazepine dependence, Benzodiazepines, Bupropion sustained-release, Carbamazepine, Chlormethiazole, Cyanamide, Cytisine, Disulfiram, Maintenance treatment, Nalmefene, Naltrexone, Nicotine replacement therapy, Nortriptyline, Opioid analgesics, Opioid, Dependence, Psychosocial treatments, Self-harm, SSRI, Tiapride, Tobacco Cessation, Topiramate, Varenicline.