Electroacupuncture and antidepressant treatment of alcoholism in a private practice

In a private clinical practice, 50 alcoholics were treated with a combination of ear electroacupuncture and small doses (50 mg/day) of the antidepressant maprotiline hydrochloride. The program provided for ten 20-minute acupuncture sessions during the first month and monthly booster sessions for at least 12 months. Sixteen patients occasionally took at least 100 mg/day of maprotiline, and 11 patients received alprazolam (usually 1 mg/day) for a few days. Treatment outcome was analyzed in 45 patients after one week and in 39 patients after two to three months and at six months. Sixty-seven percent of the patients evaluated stopped drinking within one week of treatment, 49% were abstinent for at least two or three months, and 38% either remained abstinent through-out the six-month period or became abstinent after an interim period of light or moderate drinking. Overall, 79% were improved for at least two or three months and 64% for at least six months. None of the patients exhibited or reported acute withdrawal symptoms. The results seem to warrant controlled study of an acupuncture-antidepressant regimen for the treatment of alcoholism.