Drug could help addictions

MINNEAPOLIS, July 25 (UPI) -- A Minneapolis psychiatrist says naltrexone, a drug used to treat alcoholism, may help end addictions to drugs, gambling and shoplifting.

Dr. Jon Grant, a University of Minnesota psychiatrist, is conducting multiple trials with naltrexone, which was approved in 1994 to treat alcoholism, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported.

Grant said a study published in May suggested alcoholics taking naltrexone pills, with psychiatric supervision, were less likely to drink than those treated with therapy alone. The federal government in April approved a long-lasting injection form of the drug, which might be easier for addicts to stick with than daily pills, the newspaper said.

Grant said some people get a rush from shoplifting, much like an alcoholic does from alcohol. He said naltrexone has a very good chance of fixing addictive problems that produce rushes, pleasures and euphoria, the Pioneer Press said.

"Drug companies aren't interested in this study because it is generic and nobody is making any money from it," Grant told the newspaper. "My goal is to see whether we have a proven treatment that can help people with this problem."