Brexpiprazole in Alcohol Use Disorder
Alcohol Use Disorder
About this trial
This is an interventional treatment trial for Alcohol Use Disorder
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- Ages 21-65.
- Meet DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition) diagnostic criteria for AUD, as assessed by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 (SCID-5).
- Currently not engaged in, and does not want treatment for, AUD.
- Currently not taking any medication for AUD.
- Able to read and understand questionnaires and informed consent.
- Lives within 50 miles of the study site.
- Physically healthy with no history of significant medical illness.
- Negative urine drug screen (UDS) for all substances of abuse prior to taking the first dose of medication.
Please contact clinical site for additional inclusion criteria.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Refusal of valid written consent.
- Insufficient English skills for consenting or interviews.
- Severe claustrophobia or morbid obesity that preclude placement in the MRI scanner.
- Contraindications to MRI scanning, ferrous metal in the body including intracranial, intraorbital, or intraspinal metal, pacemakers, cochlear implants or other non-MRI-compatible devices.
- History of head injury with loss of consciousness for more than 2 minutes, neurological illness, or history of neurosurgical procedures.
- Current DSM-5 diagnosis of any other substance use disorder except Nicotine Use Disorder.
- Current DSM-5 psychotic, mood, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, trauma-related, or eating disorder, as assessed by SCID-5.
- Current suicidal ideation or homicidal ideation.
- Current use of any psychoactive medication, as evidenced by self-report and UDS.
- History of severe alcohol withdrawal (e.g., seizure, delirium tremens), as evidenced by self-report and assessment with Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol-Revised (CIWA-Ar).
- Clinically significant medical problems such as cardiovascular, renal, gastrointestinal, or endocrine problems, as evidenced by medical history and physical exam.
- Past alcohol-related medical illness, such as gastrointestinal bleeding, pancreatitis, or peptic ulcer.
- Current or past hepatocellular disease, as indicated by verbal report or elevations of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) or aspartate aminotransferase (AST) greater than 3 times the upper limit of the normal range at screening.
- Females of childbearing potential who are pregnant (by plasma or urine HCG), nursing, or who are not using a reliable form of contraception.
- Current charges pending for a violent crime (not including DUI-related offenses).
- Currently incarcerated.
- Lack of a stable living situation.
- History of head injury with loss of consciousness for more than 2 minutes, neurological illness, or history of neurosurgical procedures.
- Decisionally challenged.
Sites / Locations
- University of Colorado Anschutz Medical CampusRecruiting
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Arm 3
Placebo Comparator
Active Comparator
Active Comparator
Placebo
BREX 2mg
BREX 4mg
Participants in this Arm will take a medically inert placebo. To ensure pill equivalence between groups, tablets will be packaged in the same capsule; thus, each participant will take one capsule per day. Participants will be instructed to ingest the capsule orally each morning.
The BREX 2mg group will start at the same dose at the BREX 4mg group and titrate up at the same rate, so the BREX 2mg Arm will take .5 mg of brexpiprazole on day 1-2, 1 mg on day 3-4, and 2mg on day 5, to reach its final 2mg dose for day 5-14. To ensure pill equivalence between groups, tablets will be packaged in the same capsule; thus, each participant will take one capsule per day. Participants will be instructed to ingest the medication orally each morning.
The BREX 4mg group will start at the same dose as the BREX 2mg group and titrate up at the same rate, so the BREX 4mg Arm will take .5 mg of brexpiprazole on day 1-2, 1 mg on day 3-4, 2mg on day 5-6, and 4mg on day 7 to reach its final 4mg dose for days 7-14. To ensure pill equivalence between groups, tablets will be packaged in the same capsule; thus, each participant will take one capsule per day. Participants will be instructed to ingest the medication orally each morning.