Campral vs Antabuse

Do Campral and Antabuse work in the same way?

Oh, no, they are quite different. Campral (acamprosate calcium) affects the brain, making one think about alcohol less. It helps to maintain abstinence (stay sober) and avoid drinking again after the withdrawal period. Campral reduces the physical and emotional discomfort experienced by alcohol dependent people after they have stopped drinking.

Campral works by stabilizing the balance between the activity of GABA and NMDA receptors in the brain. Alcohol increases the actions of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) on the GABA receptors and decreases the actions of excitatory amino acids such as glutamate on glutamatergic N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. It results in a depressed activity in the brain and the nerves. Long periods of consuming alcohol make the body and the brain adapt to this situation by decreasing the activity of GABA receptors and increasing the activity of NMDA receptors. When aclohol intake is suddenly stopped, the depressant effects disappear while the neurones remain hyperexcitable. Due to this, the person experiences a range of symptoms associated with alcohol withdrawal, such as poor sleep, anxiety and irritability, dysphoria and feeling generally ill. It may take a rather long time for the system to readapt and restore the normal balance.

Campral is thought to work by activating GABA receptors and blocking the activity of NMDA receptors. This way it helps the person manage uneasiness in the initial period of alcohol abstinence and live through the readaptation period.

In brief, Campral helps to normalize the brain chemistry disrupted by heavy drinking.

Antabuse makes one feel very bad while drinking. In other words, it increases the discomfort produced by alcohol intoxication. This may stop alcohol abusers from drinking more alcohol and help them quit drinking completely.

"In the system, alcohol is metabolized in two steps. First, it is changed into a very toxic substance called acetaldehyde. Then, acetaldehyde is oxidized further into a harmless acetic acid. Hangover symptoms are experienced on the first stage, when the body is stuffed with acetaldehyde. Antabuse stops oxidizing acetaldehyde into acetic acid. That is why when the person ingests alcohol during Antabuse treatment, the body accumulates 5 to 10 times more acetaldehyde as compared to the amount of it formed in the system when the same dose of alcohol is taken alone. As a result, the person feels very uneasy."
http://antabuse.100webspace.net/

So, Campral makes the craving less while Antabuse doesn't. On the other hand, Antabuse stops a person from drinking, because the more one drinks, the worse he or she feels, while Campral does not stop one's drinking so rudely.

They prohibit combining alcohol with Antabuse, because it can be even fatal. They do not recommend to stop taking Campral even if you start drinking again, because you may drink less due to the fact that Campral makes you less dependent on alcohol on the emotional level.

That is the difference between the medications.