Olivier Ameisen
Encyclopedia
Olivier Ameisen is a French-American cardiologist. He was appointed visiting professor of medicine at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in 2008 based on his work on the mechanisms and treatment of addiction. He had been professor of medicine at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University
and an attending physician at New York Presbyterian Hospital for fifteen years, when he opened a cardiology practice in Manhattan
in 1994.
(5,000 meetings over several years)and went to detoxification and rehabilitation programs in the US.[source?] Even after stays as long as three months, he would relapse the day he left rehabilitation, although his counselors had told him he would do well.[source?] The reason for these relapses were overwhelming craving and anxiety.[source?] Anticraving medications proved ineffective at any dose (naltrexone, acamprosate, topiramate). Also ineffective was baclofen at the low-dose it is standardly prescribed at (30 mg/d)). Ultimately he returned to Paris
.
was, like naltrexone, acamprosate and topiramate, modestly effective at reducing the cravings of addictions, he experimented on himself, and proposed a new treatment model for addiction that is evidence-based. He first postulated that unlike other diseases where which suppression of symptoms is not associated with improvement of prognosis (such as: bacterial pneumonia, relief of unstable angina with medical means without surgery etc...), in addiction, suppression of symptoms (craving, preoccupation, thoughts etc...) should suppress the disease altogether since addiction is, as he observed, a "symptom-driven disease". Of all "anticraving medications used in animals, only one - baclofen - has the unique property of suppressing the motivation to consume cocaïne, heroin, alcohol, nicotine and d-amphetamine. The effect is dose-dependent. All other medications reduce but do not suppress the urge of the animal to consume alcohol or related substances. Ameisen hypothesized that these unique dose-dependent motivation-suppressing properties of baclofen in animals could be transposed to humans and suppress dependence altogether. He designed a protocol of baclofen dose -escalation (the same protocol that experienced neurologists use for comfort-care, going up to 300 mg/d for the treatment of spasticity. At the dose of 270 mg/d, Ameisen observed that he had become completely indifferent to alcohol. This, unlike abstinence which requires constant efforts, has occurred effortlessly. There were no side effects other than "welcome" mild somnolence in patient with anxiety. Ameisen stayed at this dose for only 10 days, progressively reducing to 120 mg/d at which there were no symptoms of alcohol-dependence altogether, and no side effects at all. Since 2003 Ameisen has been diagnosed as cured.
Since complete suppression of dependence using a medication had never been described in the medical literature, Ameisen wrote up his own case report and the peer reviewed Journal Alcohol and Alcoholism published it on December 13, 2004, after praising the paper. In his paper, like in those that followed in JAMA, Lancet, CNS Drugs etc., Ameisen urged for randomized trials to test suppression of alcohol dependence using high-dose baclofen.
, Le Dernier Verre
(The Last Glass), describing his experience. He wrote the book because, according to Ameisen, addiction researchers in academia had repeatedly refused to test baclofen in randomized trials, and with the intention of bringing this potentially life-saving treatment to the attention of physicians outside of the addiction field and to the public at large.
In the US paperback edition, the book is now titled Heal Thyself: A Doctor at the Peak of His Medical Career, Destroyed by Alcohol---and the Personal Miracle that Brought Him Back.
Ameisen's treatment model has been praised by Nobel
laureate for Medicine Jean Dausset
who said, "Ameisen has discovered the cure for addiction". Amesin's book has received the official endorsement of the Journal Alcohol and Alcoholism, that represents the National Council on Alcoholism and by its chief-editor, Dr. Jonathan Chick who has taken the unusual step to support Ameisen's findings in the medias (Daily Mail, The Big Issue). Prominent figures in Medicine were exasperated at the fact that addiction specialists have not fulfilled their obligation to conduct randomized trials of the only therapeutic model that could affect the deadliness of this devastating disease have publicly written: Jerome B. Posner
, Chair of Neuro-oncology, George Cotzias director of the laboratory, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
wrote in January 2009:
Arguably, Dr. Posner's
suspicion has turned out to be correct. An online community has evolved wherein alcoholics order the medication online and self administer the drug with support from one another and Ameisen's book. Websites like mywayout.org and thesinclairmethod.net are replete with success stories of this variety. In the UK Dr Jonathan Chick, editor-in-chief of the medical journal Alcohol and Alcoholism publicly supports Ameisen's discovery.> Ameisen has been awarded the French Legion of Honor by President Jacques Chirac, out of the President's personal reserve of Crosses in 1998.
Weill Medical College of Cornell University
Weill Cornell Medical College is the biomedical research unit and medical school of Cornell University. The medical college is currently located at 1300 York Avenue, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, along with the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences...
and an attending physician at New York Presbyterian Hospital for fifteen years, when he opened a cardiology practice in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in 1994.
Alcohol addiction
Ameisen suffered from severe alcoholism. He reports that he faithfully followed every step that his doctors or therapists proposed. He attended Alcoholics AnonymousAlcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
(5,000 meetings over several years)and went to detoxification and rehabilitation programs in the US.[source?] Even after stays as long as three months, he would relapse the day he left rehabilitation, although his counselors had told him he would do well.[source?] The reason for these relapses were overwhelming craving and anxiety.[source?] Anticraving medications proved ineffective at any dose (naltrexone, acamprosate, topiramate). Also ineffective was baclofen at the low-dose it is standardly prescribed at (30 mg/d)). Ultimately he returned to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Baclofen
After hearing anecdotal reports that the muscle relaxant baclofenBaclofen
Baclofen is a derivative of gamma-aminobutyric acid . It is primarily used to treat spasticity and is under investigation for the treatment of alcoholism....
was, like naltrexone, acamprosate and topiramate, modestly effective at reducing the cravings of addictions, he experimented on himself, and proposed a new treatment model for addiction that is evidence-based. He first postulated that unlike other diseases where which suppression of symptoms is not associated with improvement of prognosis (such as: bacterial pneumonia, relief of unstable angina with medical means without surgery etc...), in addiction, suppression of symptoms (craving, preoccupation, thoughts etc...) should suppress the disease altogether since addiction is, as he observed, a "symptom-driven disease". Of all "anticraving medications used in animals, only one - baclofen - has the unique property of suppressing the motivation to consume cocaïne, heroin, alcohol, nicotine and d-amphetamine. The effect is dose-dependent. All other medications reduce but do not suppress the urge of the animal to consume alcohol or related substances. Ameisen hypothesized that these unique dose-dependent motivation-suppressing properties of baclofen in animals could be transposed to humans and suppress dependence altogether. He designed a protocol of baclofen dose -escalation (the same protocol that experienced neurologists use for comfort-care, going up to 300 mg/d for the treatment of spasticity. At the dose of 270 mg/d, Ameisen observed that he had become completely indifferent to alcohol. This, unlike abstinence which requires constant efforts, has occurred effortlessly. There were no side effects other than "welcome" mild somnolence in patient with anxiety. Ameisen stayed at this dose for only 10 days, progressively reducing to 120 mg/d at which there were no symptoms of alcohol-dependence altogether, and no side effects at all. Since 2003 Ameisen has been diagnosed as cured.
Since complete suppression of dependence using a medication had never been described in the medical literature, Ameisen wrote up his own case report and the peer reviewed Journal Alcohol and Alcoholism published it on December 13, 2004, after praising the paper. In his paper, like in those that followed in JAMA, Lancet, CNS Drugs etc., Ameisen urged for randomized trials to test suppression of alcohol dependence using high-dose baclofen.
Book: "The End of my Addiction"
In 2008 Ameisen wrote a best-selling book, The End Of My AddictionThe End Of My Addiction
The End Of My Addiction is a memoir written by a Doctor detailing his experiences with alcoholism. After years of failed attempts to stop drinking, he finds a cure in a drug called Baclofen-Plot summary:...
, Le Dernier Verre
Le Dernier Verre
Le Dernier Verre is a best-selling book by French cardiologist Olivier Ameisen based upon his experience of curing himself of alcoholism using the muscle relaxant, baclofen.-External links:*...
(The Last Glass), describing his experience. He wrote the book because, according to Ameisen, addiction researchers in academia had repeatedly refused to test baclofen in randomized trials, and with the intention of bringing this potentially life-saving treatment to the attention of physicians outside of the addiction field and to the public at large.
In the US paperback edition, the book is now titled Heal Thyself: A Doctor at the Peak of His Medical Career, Destroyed by Alcohol---and the Personal Miracle that Brought Him Back.
Reception
In 2007, an Italian team has demonstrated the effectiveness and the safety of baclofen as a treatment for alcohol-addictionAmeisen's treatment model has been praised by Nobel
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
laureate for Medicine Jean Dausset
Jean Dausset
Jean-Baptiste-Gabriel-Joachim Dausset was a French immunologist born in Toulouse, France. He married Rose Mayoral in 1963, with whom he had two children, Henri and Irène...
who said, "Ameisen has discovered the cure for addiction". Amesin's book has received the official endorsement of the Journal Alcohol and Alcoholism, that represents the National Council on Alcoholism and by its chief-editor, Dr. Jonathan Chick who has taken the unusual step to support Ameisen's findings in the medias (Daily Mail, The Big Issue). Prominent figures in Medicine were exasperated at the fact that addiction specialists have not fulfilled their obligation to conduct randomized trials of the only therapeutic model that could affect the deadliness of this devastating disease have publicly written: Jerome B. Posner
Jerome B. Posner
Jerome B. Posner is an American neurologist and co-author of Plum and Posner's Diagnosis of Stupor and Coma. Dr. Posner has served as chief of the Neuro-Psychiatry Service of the Department of Medicine, chair of the Department of Neurology and currently occupies the George C...
, Chair of Neuro-oncology, George Cotzias director of the laboratory, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center is a cancer treatment and research institution founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital...
wrote in January 2009:
"One wonders if high-dose baclofen will apparently become the treatment of choice without ever undergoing a controlled trial, simply because more and more alcoholics will be treated and the effectiveness will spread by word of mouth. If it works as well as you indicate that it does, it shouldn't need controlled trials. Even if a controlled trial were to show no overall benefit, it is clear that at least some (maybe all?) patient's do respond."
Arguably, Dr. Posner's
Jerome B. Posner
Jerome B. Posner is an American neurologist and co-author of Plum and Posner's Diagnosis of Stupor and Coma. Dr. Posner has served as chief of the Neuro-Psychiatry Service of the Department of Medicine, chair of the Department of Neurology and currently occupies the George C...
suspicion has turned out to be correct. An online community has evolved wherein alcoholics order the medication online and self administer the drug with support from one another and Ameisen's book. Websites like mywayout.org and thesinclairmethod.net are replete with success stories of this variety. In the UK Dr Jonathan Chick, editor-in-chief of the medical journal Alcohol and Alcoholism publicly supports Ameisen's discovery.> Ameisen has been awarded the French Legion of Honor by President Jacques Chirac, out of the President's personal reserve of Crosses in 1998.