Active clinical trials for "Alcohol Drinking"

This study will examine the effectiveness of an integrated treatment for adolescents who are depressed and use alcohol in an intensive outpatient setting in the community.

Evaluating the effect of guanfacine on alcohol consumption. The investigators hypothesize that guanfacine versus placebo will decrease the amount of alcohol consumption (mls consumed) during the 2-hour self-administration period across two laboratory sessions.

Background: It is well documented that individuals with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) respond well during evidence-based psychological treatment, but also that a large proportion relapse when discharged from treatment and confronted with alcohol in real life. Cue Exposure Therapy (CET) focuses on confronting alcohol cues in order to reduce cravings as well as the likelihood of relapse. The aim of this study is to investigate whether CET as aftercare increases the efficiency of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) among AUD individuals. Design and methods: The study is implemented as an investigator-blinded randomized controlled trial. A total of 300 consecutively enrolled AUD patients, recruited from an alcohol outpatient clinic will be randomized to one of the three following aftercare treatment groups: (A) CET as a smartphone application (n = 100); (B) CET as group therapy (n = 100), and (C) Aftercare as Usual (n = 100). It is hypothesized that the two experimental groups ((A) and (B)) will achieve better treatment outcomes as compared to the control group ((C)), and It will be explored whether CET as smartphone application is as effective as CET as group therapy. The groups will be compared in a number of parameters including alcohol intake, cravings and copings-strategies. Discussion: If the hypothesis, that CET increases the efficiency of CBT is verified, it will make sense to supplement CBT with CET as aftercare, hence, reintegrating CET within a CBT approach. Although, CET is most often regarded as one of the behavioral methods in CBT, there appears to be segregation in the empirical literature when it comes to treatment of addictive disorders. However, CET may allow the patient to practice and gain control over alcohol cue reactivity and associated high-risk situations in an inter-mediating therapeutic context before the patients inevitably are confronted by them. In this way, one might expect the transition from treatment to daily life less overwhelming and CET may help prevent relapse in the long term. Thus, CET may be particularly suitable as aftercare.

Current pharmacotherapies for alcohol use disorders (AUDs) have limited efficacy. Thus, the development of effective treatments for AUDs represents an important public health objective. Repositioning, i.e. using existing approved drugs for other indications, represents a fast and economically feasible approach for drug development. Ivermectin (IVM) is an FDA-approved antiparasitic medication that can significantly reduce alcohol intake in mice, suggesting that it may be useful in the treatment of AUDs in humans. The goal of this project is to provide key clinical evidence that IVM can be repositioned as a novel therapeutic agent to treat AUDs.

The purpose of the study is to evaluate if the drug prazosin: will decrease alcohol use in active duty members of the military who served in Iraq and/or Afghanistan and determine if presence or absence of posttraumatic stress disorder affects treatment.

The study examines the relative efficacy of two active aftercare interventions (i.e., face-to-face , brief phone) with no-active aftercare for adolescents who completed outpatient treatment for alcohol use disorders(AUD)

This study will examine whether Rimonabant, a drug that blocks cannabinoid-1 (CB1) receptors in the brain, affects alcohol consumption. Substances called endocannabinoids, which have many of the same effects of marijuana, bind to CB1 receptors. Animal studies show that when CB1 receptors are blocked, the animals consume less alcohol. Healthy normal volunteers between 21 and 40 years of age who consume between 20 and 40 alcoholic drinks per week, drink at least 4 days a week, and are not seeking treatment for alcoholism may be eligible for this study. Candidates are screened with a medical history, including questions about alcohol and drug use, physical examination, blood and urine tests, breath alcohol test, and electrocardiogram. Participants are asked about their mental health history and use of alcohol, cigarettes and illicit drugs, and fill out questionnaires evaluating their emotional state and personality. Then, they begin a baseline evaluation in which they call a number at the NIH Clinical Center for 21 days to report how much alcohol they drank that day. One week after starting the baseline evaluation, they are randomly assigned to take either Rimonabant or placebo (a pill with no active ingredient) for 2 weeks. Before starting the drug, they have a urine drug screen and measurement of blood alcohol level. After 1 week on the test medication, they return to the Clinical Center to monitor drug or placebo side effects, if any, and to have a blood alcohol level test, urine drug screen, and blood tests for routine blood chemistries. After 2 weeks on the test medication, they come to the Clinical Center at noon for an alcohol self-administration test. Before the test, they are given a breath alcohol test and a urine drug test. The results of both tests must be negative to continue in the study. The alcohol self-administration test is videotaped. A heparin lock is placed in a vein in the participant's arm. This small needle remains in the arm for the duration of the study to avoid multiple needle sticks for blood draws. Blood is drawn periodically during the test to determine routine laboratory values, cotinine level (assessment of smoking status), the amount of Rimonabant or placebo in the body, and levels of various hormones. Thirty minutes before the test begins and every 30 minutes during the test, participants complete questionnaires and rating scales regarding their mood and desire to drink. Five minutes before the test be...

The study has 4 specific aims: (1) To modify our existing Individual Female Specific Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (I-FS-CBT) for Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) approach to treat women with alcohol dependence in a group format, Group Female Specific Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (G-FS-CBT); (2) To test the relative efficacy of I-FS-CBT and G-FS-CBT; (3) To test hypothesized mechanisms of change in drinking that are common to both treatments, including (a) coping skills and enhanced self-efficacy for abstinence; (b) enhanced sense of autonomy; (c) alleviation of negative affect, and (d) increased social network support for abstinence, and (4) To assess the relative cost-effectiveness of the individual and group treatment.

The EXTEND study is a randomized controlled trial to compare the uptake and acceptability, efficacy, and cost of methods of delivery of an alcohol intervention in reducing unhealthy alcohol use and increasing viral suppression among HIV positive persons in Uganda. The study arms are (a) in-person counseling during 2 quarterly clinic visits plus live booster phone calls every three weeks in the interim (b) in-person counseling during 2 quarterly clinic visits plus tech (choice of SMS or IVR) boosters once to twice weekly in the interim; and (c) standard of care (SOC) control (brief unstructured advice, with a wait-listed intervention).

Hazardous alcohol consumption is one of the leading causes of preventable deaths in the United States. Further, it is highly comorbid with anxiety and depressive symptoms and disorders; hazardous alcohol use is associated with increased anxiety/depression. Indeed, 'affectively-vulnerable hazardous drinkers' (i.e., drinkers with elevated negative mood states or psychopathology) are 'at risk' for higher drinking rates, more problematic drinking, worsened mental health, and greater disability. Specialty care options are needed to address the unique 'affective needs' of hazardous drinkers. One promising intervention approach is to employ personalized feedback interventions (PFI). These interventions are brief, efficient, and have been shown to be effective in a number of settings and across an array of populations. However, PFIs have not been evaluated among affectively vulnerable hazardous drinkers. In order to address the heterogeneity of negative mood states and disorders among hazardous drinkers, there is a need to theoretically orient the intervention approach on underlying transdiagnostic processes that underpin affective psychopathology. Anxiety sensitivity (AS), the tendency to fear anxiety-related sensations, is a core transdiagnostic vulnerability factor underlying the etiology and maintenance of anxiety disorders, other emotional disorders, and hazardous drinking. AS is malleable in response to psychosocial interventions, making it a prime risk factor to target in prevention/intervention programs, including PFI approaches. Integrated treatments that address hazardous drinking via AS are nonexistant. As most hazardous drinkers typically do not access treatment because of such barriers as cost, time commitments, stigma, and logistics (e.g., travel, scheduling appointments), there is a need to develop an accessible, brief, integrated tool to explicitly address the drinking-affective vulnerability comorbidity via AS. To address this public health gap, the current proposal seeks to employ a computer-delivered integrated PFI that directly addresses hazardous drinking-AS in a personalized manner. Hazardous drinkers with elevated AS will be randomly assigned to receive one session of PFI or attention information control with follow-up assessments at one week and one month post-intervention. The PFI will focus on targeted feedback about drinking behaviors, AS, and adaptive coping strategies.