The epilepsy drug vigabatrin appears to be safe for the treatment of cocaine or methamphetamine dependence, new study results suggest. Dr. Stephen L. Dewey, a neuroanatomist at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York, and colleagues report their findings in the medical journal Synapse. Dewey’s team previously reported that vigabatrin is effective in the treatment of cocaine dependence. However, vigabatrin treatment has been associated with vision problems. They therefore investigated the safety and effectiveness of low dose vigabatrin in ten patients addicted to methamphetamines, three with cocaine dependence, and 17 addicted to both drugs. On average, the 30 subjects had been addicted for 13 years. Sixteen of the 18 participants who completed the 9-week study remained drug-free during the last 6 weeks of the trial, according to urine test results.
