potential in the treatment of alcohol addiction may be studied locally in the future pending further medical data.

In separate studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University, the drug naltrexone was found to prevent relapses in recovering alcoholics by reducing their craving for a drink.

The drug, which has been used in US heroin addiction programmes, blocks certain pleasure-producing chemicals manufactured by the human brain, obstructing the patient's `high'.

One US researcher said this effect would be especially beneficial during the early stages of alcoholism therapy, because it would help prevent relapses in the critical first three months of treatment.

In one of the university studies, only 23 percent of the subjects who combined the drug with behavorial therapy went back to drinking. In the group who had therapy alone, 54 percent returned to the bottle.

The CBS report included interviews with several recovering alcoholics who are convinced naltrexone was the main reason they have stayed sober.

But while the results appear to be indisputable, medical experts are cautioning against over-optimism.

Dr. Enoch Gordis of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse in the US said during the television report: "These are only two studies. They went on for three months. The results, of course, are promising enough to warrant further study, but they are not the final one.'' Mr. Brian Richards of Bermuda's Addiction Services said while he is familiar with the drug, it is currently not in use in the Island.

He said naltrexone is more commonly used to gauge the amount of heroin in a person's bloodstream. This, he explained, helps to ascertain the dosage of methadone an addict should receive during treatment.

Methadone acts as a substitute for heroin and is commonly dispensed by drug abuse programmes to help wean addicts from diamorphine.

Coordinator of the Montrose Substance Abuse Centre, Mr. Edward Richardson, found the reported new use for the drug "interesting'', and said there was a possibility it could be used in a local study.

But Mr. Richardson cautioned this would mean setting up a new treatment and monitoring programme to follow the drug's effects and success rate.

At present, alcoholics who ask for assistance are dealt with on a case-by-case basis, receiving different combinations of treatment methods.

Montrose, which is a department of the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, must have the endorsement of consulting psychiatrists before any new study is initiated.

"Most of all, we need the approval of the patients,'' said Mr. Richardson, adding that therapeutic drugs are only administered on a voluntary basis.