Effects of acamprosate on psychomotor performance and driving ability in abstinent alcoholics

The possible effects of acute and long-term treatment of the antidipsotropic agent acamprosate on psychomotor performance and driving ability were studied in a prospective open clinical trial involving 5 alcoholic patients without any clinical evidence for cognitive impairement. Acamprosate 1995 mg/day was given for 6 months for relapse prevention with all patients being abstinent throughout the study. No side effects were reported during treatment. Psychomotor performance and driving ability were assessed using the ART 90, a standardized and computerized neuropsychological test battery. A number of relevant subtests measuring peripheral vision, split attention, sensomotoric function, reaction time, stress resistance and the capacity to integrate information was used at study entry, 6 weeks and 6 months after onset of treatment. While in two subtests a moderate improvement in psychomotor performance was found, in most subtests no differences compared to baseline could be shown. The results of this pilot study do not indicate any impairment of psychomotor performance by acamprosate.