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By Biocat

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has given the green light to the Danish pharmaceutical company Lundbeck, which has a subsidiary in Barcelona, to market a drug to combat alcoholism, Selincro. It is recommended for adult patients with alcohol dependence with high risk consume. Spain will begin selling in it in 2014.

The drug acts on the brain's reward circuit, which in these patients is poorly regulated. According to clinical trials, the desire to continue drinking once it has begun processing is reduced by 40% after one month and up to 60% after six months. The diagnosis of dependence requires the evaluation of an expert, so Selincro will only be prescribed in combination with psychosocial support.

Excessive consumption of alcohol is common in many parts of the world, especially in Europe. In the European Union it is estimated that 5% of adult men and 1.4% of women are alcohol-dependent.

Worldwide, over 80% of alcohol- dependent people have not been diagnosed, and only 10% of those who have been diagnosed, receive treatment.

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