Addiction
February 16, 2026
Cassie Bloy, Ananya Sarma, Bethan Marsh et al.
1 citation
People with alcohol use disorder experience changes in consciousness from 0.8 mg/kg intravenous ketamine administration. Ketamine's effects remain broadly consistent across three repeated infusions. Reductions in alcohol consumption linked to ketamine do not appear to be caused by the acute psychoactive effects of the drug.
Addiction science & clinical practice
February 4, 2026
Maya Appley, Jessica R Gray, Dima Abdulrahim et al.
1 citation
A young woman with severe post-traumatic stress disorder developed a severe ketamine use disorder, along with gastrointestinal toxicity and uropathy from chronic use. A multidisciplinary care plan, modeled on a UK clinic for club drug users, included specialist referrals for physical complications and mental health support. With this approach, she significantly reduced ketamine use for a time. US healthcare providers need awareness of non-medical ketamine use and its harms to counsel and treat the growing number of users. The UK's multidisciplinary clinic offers a model for patient-centered care that could inform US systems.
Molecules
February 4, 2026
Monica Patrícia Esperança, N. N. S. Gomes, Maria Graça Campos
1 citation
Substance Use Disorder (SUD) causes about 600,000 deaths yearly, mainly from opioid use. Current treatments are limited because they target only isolated brain processes and fail to address key mechanisms like glutamatergic hyperactivity, low dopamine in reward pathways, and dysfunction in control networks, leading to high relapse rates. Ibogaine, an alkaloid from the Tabernanthe iboga plant, has re-emerged as a candidate due to its ability to modulate multiple pathways linked to addiction. However, its clinical use is hindered by fragmented evidence, lack of regulatory frameworks, inconsistent product quality, and cardiac safety concerns. This scoping review synthesizes preclinical and clinical data on ibogaine for SUD, focusing on withdrawal, craving, dose-response, and cardiac risks, and outlines conditions for further investigation.
Expert review of clinical pharmacology
February 3, 2026
Kaitlin R Mcmanus, Lara A Ray
A review of current and emerging treatments for alcohol use disorder (AUD), which affects 27.1 million U.S. adults, argues that existing medications have mixed efficacy and that a shift toward precision medicine—identifying subgroups most responsive to existing or combination pharmacotherapies—is needed. The review also synthesizes novel agents on the treatment horizon, including glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists, classic psychedelics, ketamine, immune modulators, and cannabinoids. Adopting precision medicine and these new compounds requires changes in healthcare systems, moving away from a one-size-fits-all model to improve cost-effectiveness and patient outcomes, though distribution challenges remain.
February 1, 2026
Carlton J. Spotswood
A review of psilocybin as a treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD) examines the history, mechanisms, and clinical evidence for psychedelic-assisted therapy. The authors argue that psilocybin, when combined with psychotherapy, may help reduce alcohol consumption and support abstinence by disrupting maladaptive neural patterns and enhancing psychological insight. The text notes that psilocybin at 25 mg/70 kg produces robust psychedelic effects, contrary to a claim that it does not. Adverse effects are discussed, but the review does not present original data. The authors suggest psilocybin shows promise for AUD but emphasize the need for further controlled trials.
Therapeutische Umschau. Revue therapeutique
February 1, 2026
Patrik Roser
Alcohol use disorders are a major contributor to the global disease burden. After the acute withdrawal phase, the main goal of post-acute treatment is long-term abstinence, though reducing consumption is also recognized as an intermediate aim. In Switzerland, four medications—acamprosate, naltrexone, nalmefene, and disulfiram—are approved for this phase and have well-established efficacy in reducing relapse risk, drinking days, and overall alcohol consumption. Off-label use of baclofen, topiramate, and gabapentin lacks sufficient evidence of effectiveness. Emerging treatments such as cannabidiol, psilocybin, and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists show promising potential that requires further clinical confirmation. Pharmacological interventions can improve patient outcomes, reduce inpatient treatment needs, and lower healthcare costs.