Pharmacological treatments for alcohol dependence and withdrawal--an historical perspective.

In an article published in 1984 Teeling-Smith referred to pharmacological treatments for alcohol problems as a challenge to pharmaceutical innovation. This challenge still exists and seems most likely to be met by the application of drugs developed for some other purpose to the treatment of alcohol abuse, rather than the empirical development of drugs for treating alcohol abuse per se. The papers which follow in this symposium enlarge upon some of the areas covered in this brief survey.