Breaking the gears
It is after his hospitalization for an alcoholic coma that François realizes that he must end his alcohol addiction. He had been drinking a liter of wine a day and a bottle of vodka every weekend for over 10 years. The cirrhosis he had developed had not, however, held back his consumption.
Addiction is defined by the inability to stop a behavior while knowing the consequences it has on the body. It is linked to psychoactive substances, the best known being tobacco, alcohol and drugs, but also to a pathological relationship to gambling, whether it be video games or gambling.
This public health problem has colossal health, social and financial repercussions. In France, addictions are responsible for 30% of deaths each year before the age of 65. The vicious circle that they establish in the patient causes psychological and physical disturbances which lead him to isolate himself, in particular from his family and his entourage, friendly or professional.
This month, Le Particulier Santé is reviewing all the methods available to help those who fall into addiction. Support depends on each patient and is tailor-made: medication, psychotherapy, hospitalization, etc. A very promising avenue is being studied concerning alcohol thanks to a better knowledge of our genome. It would become possible to predict the risk of a drink addiction and to choose the most effective drug to treat it.
Dr Pierrick Hordé, Editorial director
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