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Pharmacological Treatment of Alcoholism
Clinical Research Team


JC Garbutt @ BCAS
J.C. Garbutt, M.D.
Principal Investigator

Primary Areas of Focus
  • Work in the identification of the different types of alcoholism.

  • Study of the biological differences between the alcoholism subtypes and between alcoholics and non-alcoholics.

  • Study of the biological differences and other risk factors between children of alcoholics and children from non-alcoholic families.

  • This research is implemented in collaboration with the Center's preclinical research teams, local treatment centers, and other alcoholism researchers around the country involved in the Centers for the Study of Genetics and Alcoholism.

Key Contributions
  • Participated in the final clinical trials utilizing Naltrexone in the treatment of alcoholism. Naltrexone was the first medication to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of alcoholism since disulfiram (Antabuse) was approved more than 25 years ago.

  • Found that the DIEM (Decrease in Ethanol Metabolism) phenomenon existed in sons of alcoholic fathers -- young men at risk for developing alcoholism.

  • Discovered in an initial pilot study that alcoholics are far more likely than non-alcoholics to prefer sweet tastes.

For more information, visit the links below.

Article on sweet-liking in alcoholics from Center Line

See article on this research in online.

Press release on research into alcohol and sweets craving

Article on researching differences between alcoholics and non-alcoholics from Center Line

 
Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
CB#7178, Thurston Bowles Building
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7178
Tel: (919) 966-5678 • Fax: (919) 966-5679

Updated 09/04/2002  
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