The use of naltrexone to treat ambulatory patients with alcohol dependence

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of Naltrexone in decreasing craving symptoms among Puerto Rican male veterans with alcohol dependence. METHOD: This is a double blind placebo control study with a convenience sample of eleven patients divided in two groups (placebo and Naltrexone). Scales consisting of Zung Depression, Zung Anxiety, MMSE, OCD Screener, Craving, and Somatization were administered at baseline, and weekly for four weeks as follow up. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups on any of the outcome variables at baseline or follow up measurements. A statistical trend was noted toward a decrease in somatization. A decrease in craving symptoms was observed in the experimental group. CONCLUSIONS: Even though our results did not show evidence of the efficacy of Naltrexone in decreasing craving symptoms, a small number of patients did benefit from the medication. The results could have been affected by the small sample size

Diferencias entre ERPS y EMG durante las tareas de discriminación sensormotora entre grupos de alta y baja habilidad motora / Differences in ERPS and EMG during sensorimotor discrimination tasks between high and low motor-ability groups

Se registraron eventos de potenciales sincronizados relacionados con las respuestas EMG durante tareas sensoriales motoras en sujetos (N=20) con habilidades motores variadas. Las latencias ERP y EMG aumentaron con tareas de mayor dificultad: El grupo de habilidad superior incrementó las amplitudes N100 (para estímulos frecuentes) y P200 (para estímulos raros) y decremento el tiempo de movimiento. Los resultados sugieren que la habilidad motora superior modificó la respuesta motora pero no afectó la latencia de ERP. El grupo de habilidades superiores necesitó un tiempo más corto, menos preparación o expectativa y menos errores para realizar la tarea sensoriomotora.

Event Related potentials synchronized with EMG responses were recorded during sensorimotor tasks for subjects (N=20) who varied in motor ability. ERPs and EMG latencies increases with increasing task difficulty. The high ability group increases N100 (for frequent stimuli) and P200 (for rare stimuli) amplitudes and decreases the movement time. Results suggest that the high motor ability modify motor response but the ERPs latency are unaffected. The high motor ability group needs a shorter time, less preparedness or expectancy and less errors for carrying out the sensorimotor tasks.