Pharmacology · Class
Medicines for alcohol use disorder !
Medicines that help people stay away from alcohol: acamprosate eases craving, naltrexone reduces reward and disulfiram makes drinking unpleasant.
Updated 2026-11-01
What they are
Medicines used with counselling and psychosocial support to keep abstinence or reduce heavy drinking. None of them treats withdrawal itself, which is managed with benzodiazepines.
Mechanism of action
Acamprosate is thought to rebalance glutamate and GABA signalling disturbed by long-term drinking. Disulfiram blocks aldehyde dehydrogenase, so acetaldehyde builds up if alcohol is drunk. Naltrexone blocks opioid receptors and blunts alcohol's reward.
Target: Glutamate/GABA systems (acamprosate); aldehyde dehydrogenase (disulfiram); opioid receptors (naltrexone)
Drugs in this class
- AcamprosateA medicine that helps people who have stopped drinking stay abstinent. It is not metabolised and leaves through the…Glutamate and GABA systems (mechanism not fully known)
- DisulfiramA medicine that makes drinking alcohol very unpleasant by blocking acetaldehyde breakdown. It is never given without…Aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2)
Others in the class
- Naltrexone
- Nalmefene
Test yourself
Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.
Which enzyme does disulfiram block, and what builds up?
Aldehyde dehydrogenase; acetaldehyde builds up after drinking.
Which alcohol use disorder medicine is avoided in severe kidney impairment?
Acamprosate, which is excreted unchanged by the kidneys.
Do these medicines treat alcohol withdrawal?
No; withdrawal is treated with benzodiazepines.
Educational content on how drugs work; not a prescribing guide and no substitute for a health professional's advice. No doses are given.
Sources: DailyMed - ACAMPROSATE CALCIUM tablet, delayed release (DailyMed (U.S. National Library of Medicine), 2026); DailyMed - DISULFIRAM tablet (DailyMed (U.S. National Library of Medicine), 2026); Goodman & Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 14th ed., ch. 27 (McGraw Hill, 2023); ATCDDD - ATC/DDD Index (WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology, 2026).
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Representative model, for educational purposes only.