BACKGROUND: According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Survey on Drug Use and Health in 2006, 23.6 million people aged 12 or older needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol abuse problem.

In that year, there were nearly 1.8 million admissions for treatment of alcohol and drug abuse to facilities that report to state administrative data systems. About 40 percent of the admissions were for alcohol treatment. Heroin and other opiates accounted for 18 percent of drug-related admissions, and marijuana accounted for 16 percent.

FINANCIAL TOLL OF ADDICTION: A study prepared by the Lewin Group for the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism estimated the total economic cost of alcohol and drug abuse to be $245.7 billion in 1992.

This estimate included substance abuse treatment and prevention costs as well as other health care costs, costs associated with reduced job productivity, and costs to society such as crime and social welfare.

A MEDICAL TREATMENT FOR ADDICTION? Prometa is a treatment program used on people with alcohol, cocaine and meth addictions. It involves three to five infusions of the medication Flumazenil, which is used to treat benzodiazepine overdose.

Patients also take daily doses of hydroxyzine (typically used to treat anxiety) and gabapentin (typically used to treat seizures) for about a month. The idea is the drugs target areas of the brain called gaba receptors that are in charge of calming hyper nerve cells. Doctors believe this is what reduces cravings both in frequency and in strength.

The program also involves nutritional guidance and counseling sessions. Many addicts report success with this program. Raymond Johnson, M.D., a psychiatrist in Ft. Myers, Fla., has used the therapy on more than 200 patients.

He says about 70 percent have recovered completely. "One thing it [Prometa] does really well is that it decreases the severity of compulsion and craving, and in a lot of cases, it's eliminated it for patients," Dr. Johnson said.

The Prometa treatment program is not appropriate for certain patients including those dependent on benzodiazepines; patients being treated with benzodiazepines for seizure and/or psychiatric disorder; alcoholic patients in severe withdrawal or at risk for severe withdrawal; pregnant women; women who are breastfeeding; and patients with allergies to any of the medications used in the Prometa treatment.

SOME AREN'T CONVINCED: Some doctors like John Mendelson, M.D., a senior scientist from California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute in San Francisco, Calif., say the Prometa program has not been studied effectively.

Dr. Mendelson says there are no double-blind, placebo-controlled studies showing Prometa's success, meaning Prometa has not been tested against a group of patients that receives no treatment. He also points out that the therapy is not FDA-approved for addiction.

"The real ethical hinge is not that they're promoting the treatment, but that they're charging money for it, and they're selling it as if it was an approved, completely validated treatment," Dr. Mendelson said.

For More Information, Contact:
The Prometa Treatment Program
http://www.prometainfo.com/
(800) 700-5500