Combine Study

The Combined Pharmacotherapies and Behavioral Interventions (COMBINE) study was the first national study to evaluate the effectiveness of behavioral treatments alone and in combination with medications. In the past, the treatment for alcohol dependence consisted of addiction peer counseling and behavioral therapies while pharmacotherapy was basically used for the purposes of detoxification. It was not until 1994 when the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of naltrexone for the treatment of alcohol dependence that pharmacotherapy was prescribed outside the confines of detoxification. Over the years, several behavioral treatments and at least two medications, naltrexone and acamprosate, have shown to be effective in the treatment of alcohol dependence. However, there has never been an evaluation of whether combined pharmacotherapy with or without behavioral therapy could ...