Reacción a "A drug reduces cocaine and alcohol use in a small clinical trial"

This is a well-designed and promising phase 2 clinical trial that addresses one of the great challenges in addiction medicine: the absence of effective pharmacological treatments for cocaine use disorder. The authors evaluated mavoglurant, a selective mGluR5 receptor antagonist, which showed a statistically significant reduction in cocaine use compared to placebo. In addition, a parallel reduction in alcohol consumption was observed, which could indicate shared neurobiological mechanisms between the two substances.

However, the study has significant limitations. The sample was small, predominantly composed of white males, and the duration of follow-up was short. It would be essential to evaluate this drug in more diverse populations, including regions with a high burden of consumption such as Latin America, and to consider other routes of drug administration.

Furthermore, although the results are encouraging from a clinical point of view, important questions remain unanswered: what will the cost of the drug be if it is finally approved? Will it be accessible to consumers who, for the most part, belong to vulnerable groups with few resources? Will governments be willing to finance its use in public health systems if it proves effective in the long term? These are key questions for the actual implementation of this potential therapy.