Nation's Leading Treatment Center Praises New Rx Addiction Treatments But Cautions Against 'Magic Bullet' Mystique

    WERNERSVILLE, Pa., May 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Caron Treatment Centers,
 formerly Caron Foundation, one of the nation's oldest and most respected
 addiction treatment centers, praised the pharmaceutical industry today for
 offering Vivitrol --a new, powerful medication to help patients in recovery
 -- but emphasized such agents should be part of a complete treatment
 approach.
     While Vivitrol, a new once-a-month injection to treat alcoholism, will
 help patients deal with their cravings, authorities say addicts still have
 to seek counseling and support to be successful in their recovery.
     "These medications reach the neurotransmitters in the brain to stop
 physical cravings, but addicts can still think about drugs most of the time
 if they don't deal with the issues that drive their addiction. Studies show
 that we must help people understand their behaviors in addition to treating
 their brain chemistry if there is to be hope for long-term sobriety and
 recovery," said Dr. Joseph Troncale, M.D., medical director for Caron, a
 not-for-profit organization.
     Troncale said he was pleased that Alkermes, of Cambridge, Mass., and
 Cephalon, of Frazer, Pa., the companies making and marketing Vivitrol, plan
 to emphasize that the drug must be used in conjunction with counseling or
 group therapy to achieve the best results. With other addiction fighting
 medications in various phases of review at the FDA, however, the treatment
 community fears public confusion might result without repeated emphasis on
 the importance of psychological and social support for addiction. Experts
 agree the key is to realize that addiction is a chronic disease like
 diabetes or hypertension, requiring lifelong attention.
     Impacted by the growth of addiction and alcoholism as America's top
 health problems, Caron recently changed its name from the Caron Foundation
 to Caron Treatment Centers to better describe its evolution and expansion
 over the past 50 years as an organization offering the most extensive
 continuum of addiction care in the United States.
     "Caron Treatment Centers more accurately describes our mission of
 treating patients and their families, while continuing to conduct clinical
 research to find and validate better methods of substance abuse treatment,"
 said Doug Tieman, Caron president and CEO.
     Many studies have documented that the U.S. is experiencing an epidemic
 in addiction to alcohol and various legal and illegal drugs. Alcoholism's
 economic impact alone in the U.S. is estimated at more than $166.5 billion
 annually, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. An estimated two
 million American adolescents 12-17 years old needed treatment for an
 alcohol or illicit drug problem in 2002, but only 186,000 received it,
 according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
     Caron Treatment Centers treats more than 4,000 patients each year at
 its 225 bed residential facility in Wernersville. It also has a recovery
 center in New York City, a regional office in Philadelphia and its
 Renaissance Institute in Boca Raton, Fla.
     "As one of the leaders in addiction treatment, we look forward to
 continuing our mission of helping people seeking recovery with our current
 campuses and the new facilities we are planning in the eastern United
 States," said Tieman.
     The organization was founded by Richard Caron, a Reading, Pa.,
 industrialist and recovering alcoholic, in 1957. Originally called Chit
 Chat Farms, it functioned as a place where people with substance abuse
 problems could come for helpful conversation and counseling. The name was
 changed to Caron Foundation in the mid 1980s, but this caused confusion, as
 people assumed it was dispensing funds rather than functioning as a
 non-profit institution providing treatment services for a fee.
     Caron's mission is to provide an enlightened and caring treatment
 community in which all those affected by alcoholism or other drug addiction
 may begin a new life.
 
     Contacts:
     Missy Orlando, Caron              Beth Mallard, Edelman
     (610) 743-6101                    (212) 704-4545
     morlando@caron.org                beth.mallard@edelman.com
 
 

SOURCE Caron Treatment Centers