Calcium acetylhomotaurinate

Acamprosate. Acamprosate (calcium acetylhomotaurinate), an amino acid derivative, affects both GABA and excitatory amino acid (i.e., glutamate) neurotransmission (the latter effect most likely being the one that is important for its therapeutic effects in alcoholism). Initially evaluated in a singlecenter trial in France, acamprosate was shown to be twice as effective as placebo in reducing the rate at which alcoholic patients returned to drinking (Lhuin-tre et al. 1985). The safety and efficacy of the medication have been studied most widely in Europe, and three of these studies provided the basis for the recent approval of acamprosate by the FDA for clinical use in the United States. As with naltrexone, there exist a number of meta-analytic studies that provide consistent evidence of the efficacy of the medication in the treatment of alcohol dependence. 

Acamprosate (calcium acetylhomotaurinate) is a synthetic compound with a similar chemical structure to that of gamma-aminobutyric acid. It is the... 

Acamprosate (calcium acetylhomotaurine) has a chemical structure similar to homotaurine and GABA and appears to normalize N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor tone in the glutamate system. 

Acamprosate (calcium acetylhomotaurinate) has been postulated to act by restoring the alcohol-induced neurotransmission imbalance of inhibition-excitation inputs believed to underlie alcohol dependence (1,2). The molecular structure of acamprosate explains its specificity toward the basic molecular mechanisms involved in the pathophysiology of alcohol dependence. A competitive interaction has been described between spermidine and acamprosate, suggesting a specific binding site for acamprosate on A-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (3). 

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