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Disulfiram is a relatively old molecule, which today remains marginal in the treatment of alcoholics diseases. Using this type of treatment is the subject of ethical debate. The prescription of this therapeutic requires clinical and biological rigorous evaluations before treatment. Its main action in treatment of alcoholism is related to the restraint of acetaldehyde dehydrogenase action causing the antabuse reaction. Prescription of disulfiram, supported by specialized programs of compartmental integrated care, brings significant benefit for alcoholic patients. Recently, following the discovery of its action on dopamine metabolism, disulfiram has been a renewed interest in the treatment of addictions to cocaine and pathological gambling. Although current data are insufficient to generalize its use in routine practice, they constitute a line of research interest for the future.

Our studies show that chronic alcohol consumption (CAC) in Balb/c mice induces (1) a deficit of spontaneous but not effortful retrieval processes, and (2) a concomitant reduction of anxiety, suggesting a potential interaction between emotional and memory disorders. We have shown that the benzodiazepine agonist, diazepam, induces memory deficits similar to those produced by CAC, whereas administering beta CCM (an inverse agonist of the benzodiazepine receptor) alleviated the memory deficits of alcohol-treated subjects. Parallel neuroanatomical studies have shown that CAC produced cell damage in the mamillary bodies, whereas no major changes were observed in the hippocampus or the frontal cortex, which is involved in long-term consolidation processes. Overall data show that CAC induced amnesia is not due to a dysfunction of the neural networks underlying memory storage processes, but rather results from a difficulty in activating the neural substrates engaged in retrieval processes which depend on emotional, motivational or environmental factors.

A comparative methodological study of the probe and/or vehicle effects was performed in Human volunteers with two laser Doppler velocimeters (L.D.V.): Laserflo BPM 403, T.S.I., U.S.A. and Periflux PF2B, Perimed, Sweden. Individual variations of skin blood flow are great (up to 1,400%); this could be related to spontaneous variations and/or to the occlusive effect of the probe. Skin blood flow was significantly increased in 35% of the subjects after the application of the probe alone, and in 70 to 90% of the cases after topical application of water or ethanol (20 to 50 microliters). Lag times before vasodilatation measured only when the probe was applied on the skin were between 7.4 and 27 minutes, they were reduced between 5.2 and 8.3 minutes when the vehicles were applied. These data suggest that in any protocol for L.D.V. determination an absolute control and a vehicle control should be included to evaluate objectively topical vasoactive drugs.