[The use of baclofen for treating affective disorders in alcoholism]

90 patients with alcoholism stage II suffering from secondary affective disorders (anxiety, depression) were divided into 4 groups: treated with GABA-B-receptor ligand baclofen (group 1), with sibazon (group 2), amitriptylin (group 3), placebo (group 4). As shown by clinical, experimental psychological and electrophysiological examinations, baclofen is not inferior in efficacy to sibazon and amitriptylin, but is free of side effects and complications typical for the above drugs (central deprivation, addiction, etc.). MAO activity was unaffected in all the patients, so were dopamine, serotonin and GABA blood concentrations after the treatment. This does not allow to relate the peripheral metabolism of GABA and monoamines to emergence of secondary affective disorders in alcoholism. The authors think promising to seek for drugs effective against affective disorders among ligands of GABA-B receptors.