[Pharmacotherapy of alcohol withdrawal: update and new developments].

So far few medications are approved for prophylactic treatment of alcohol dependence relapse. Apart from disulfiram, which is no longer marketed in Germany, the opioid antagonists naltrexone, nalmefene and the putative glutamate antagonist acamprosate are approved. In some other countries, baclofen and gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) are licensed. Possible other drugs of interest for prophylaxis of alcohol dependence relapse are vareniclin, gabapentin, and topiramate, but so far none of them have received approval. In the light of the currently running revision of the German guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of alcohol related disorders, an update on the pharmacotherapy of alcohol dependence is presented.