Predicting Alcoholics' Treatment Responses to a Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitor (SSRI)

This study is being done to determine if citalopram is safe and effective in the treatment of alcohol dependence. A second purpose is to evaluate whether alcohol dependent individuals who differ in a specific genetic marker respond differently to citalopram. Citalopram is a drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of depression. It belongs to a category of medications called selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors or SSRIs. The U.S. FDA has not approved citalopram for the treatment of alcohol dependence. Therefore, it is being used "off-label" in this study.