Metronidazole and alcoholism

Metronidazole (Flagyl) is an established and effective treatment of urogenital trichomoniasis. J. A. T. Taylor (1964) was using metronidazole to treat a husband and wife for this condition, when she observed the following. The husband, who was a chronic alcoholic, seemed to lose his craving for alcoholic drinks. Sometimes he experienced flushing of the face and shoulders and epigastric discomfort when he took metronidazole soon after alcohol, i.e. he experienced a disulfiram type reaction. The wife reported that alcohol drinks tasted unpleasant to her during therapy. Taylor then studied 53 alcoholic patients and concluded that metronidazole (i) decreased tolerance for alcohol, (ii) diminished craving for alcohol and (iii) produced an uncomfortable reaction to alcohol.