Increase the effectiveness of treatment can be an integrated approach in the treatment of this complex and chronic dependence, say scientists from the University of California, San Francisco, USA.

Using the model of chronic smoking illness, the authors conducted a study of the long-term effects of antidepressants and psychotherapy. The study involved 160 people who smoke 10 or more cigarettes a day.

They were divided into four experimental groups. The first stage of treatment within 8 weeks passed all patients. Against the background of the use of nortriptyline or placebo, the subjects used nicotine patches and received specialist advice. The second stage of treatment, which was continued by only two groups, included the administration of nortriptyline or placebo for 52 weeks, combined with a nine-month psychotherapy. After 52 weeks, the level of abstinence from smoking in patients who underwent a long-term therapeutic course was 2.5 times higher than those who had only passed the first stage of treatment and made up 56%.

"The previously described methods of treatment do not allow to achieve more than 35% of getting rid of tobacco dependence. The results obtained in this study indicate that combining the pharmacological and psychological approach increases the effectiveness of therapy, "conclude S. Hall and co-authors on the pages of The American journal of psychiatry.

Medicus. En.

Keywords:.