Acamprosate (trade name Campral) is a drug prescribed to reduce craving for alcohol. It is derived from the amino acid taurine. Acamprosate was launched in the U.K. in 1996. It had been used for the treatment of alcohol problems in France for several years previously.

Alcohol dependency is believed to result in certain changes in brain neurotransmission. These changes include an increase in NMDA receptors, increased “L type” calcium channels and reduced gamma-aminobutric acid (GABA) activity. It is believed that these changes may partly underlie the feeling of craving for alcohol. Acamprosate is thought to reduce the effects of excitatory amino acids and modify GABA neurotransmission. This is said to reduce some of the urge or desire to drink alcohol.

Double-blind research studies have shown that following detoxification subjects receiving acamprosate had more abstinent days and lower gamma-glutamyltransferase (ggt) levels than control groups prescribed a placebo. Acamprosate prescribing is also associated more sustained periods of abstinence and with longer periods prior to relapse back into heavy drinking.

The most common side-effects of acamprosate include diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Occasionally pruritis and a maculopapular rash may develop.

The main contra-indications to acamprosate include pregnancy, breastfeeding and very severe liver disease.

The drug is also not recommended for children and/or the elderly. The dose for patients weighing over 60 kg. is 1998 mg. (6 x 333 mg.) and those weighing under 60 kg. is 1332 mg. (4 x 333mg.).

In clinical practice acamprosate is usually seen as an adjunct to other forms of therapeutic intervention, such as counselling and attendance at A.A. Fellowship meetings. Acamprosate is therefore not viewed as stand-alone treatment – and caution is given against viewing the drug as a chemical solution (i.e. “miracle cure”) or as a substitute for other forms of intervention.