Active clinical trials for "Alcohol Drinking"

Alcohol use is almost ubiquitous on college campuses and first-year students are at particularly high risk of alcohol-related harm when they first make the transition to college. Peers are important agents in socializing both healthy and unhealthy behaviors, but despite the clear role of peer behavior in the maintenance of college problem drinking, there have been no efforts to measure the effect of individual change on the reduction of alcohol-related risks in the broader student body. That is, despite the importance of social connections for inducing and maintaining alcohol use in youth, intervention approaches have not measured nor capitalized on the potential of social influences for changing this problem behavior. It is essential that we understand the indirect effects of individual interventions and the impact such interventions have on the social structure and social connections. The best way to evaluate such effects is to use a research design that experimentally manipulates drinking using the best available intervention and measures its effects on the social network and its members. The purpose of this research is to investigate whether using an established individual Brief Motivational Intervention (BMI) administered to a small number of influential network members embedded in a social network significantly reduces heavy drinking and alcohol consequences among close peers who do not receive any intervention. In addition, the investigators will investigate social influence mechanisms of this transmitted effect, investigate how specific types of network connections and relationships moderate the indirect intervention effect, and investigate the effects of the intervention on network position and structure. First-year students at Brown will be enrolled and assessed early in their fall 2016 academic semester. Heavy drinkers in each dormitory who are in the top quartile of betweenness centrality, a social network construct that reflects high connectivity and potential influence, will either receive BMI or serve as controls, according to their dormitory's intervention assignment. All participants will be assessed again 5 and 12 months after baseline to measure changes in behavior and in peer ties. The long-term objective of this research is to understand how peer influences function in social networks in order to leverage those mechanisms to reduce problematic alcohol use in heavy drinking populations.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) impacts millions of Americans and is associated with significant behavioral, social, economic, medical, and neurobiological dysfunction, yet current behavioral treatments for AUD are only modestly effective. The proposed research will test the efficacy of a novel behavioral intervention, which combines brain stimulation with mindfulness-based relapse prevention, and is hypothesized to improve neural dysfunction and ultimately lead to large effect size reductions in heavy drinking among individuals with AUD. Given that mindfulness and brain stimulation are already available for "home use" there is great potential for the ultimate dissemination of the intervention on a large scale, which could have a significant impact on public health.

This is a double-blinded study involving healthy non-alcoholic (self-reported) volunteers over the age of 21. Consent is obtained prior to participation in the study while the participant is sober. Volunteers are recruited from residency programs, hospital employees, emergency medical personnel, and friends of the study investigators. If the volunteers choose to drink, they can participate in the study the night of ingestion of alcohol. There is no amount we ask them to drink, and we allow them to withdraw from the study at any time. We never force them to drink alcohol, or even encourage it. The participation is completely voluntary, if they would like to participate and if they choose to drink alcohol, we ask them to participate in the placebo controlled study in the safety of their own home. Then materials for the study are given out prior to their participation. An envelope is given with the questionnaire, and a small packet containing 3 pills of either NAC or placebo, and a small smear of Vicks vapor rub concealed in a small packet. At the end of their alcohol ingestion, the volunteer is asked to estimate the number roof drinks consumed and take 1 capsule per 3 drinks consumed of either 600 mg N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine or placebo capsules. In the morning, each participant fills out a Hangover Symptom Score questionnaire . A random number generator is used to determine placebo or NAC first, then the participant is given the other treatment at their subsequent encounter. Then study is being conducted over a series of many months, and data can be analyzed by the hangover symptoms scale data when using NAC compared to placebo. The data will be analyzed using the numerical values of each category for hangover classification and compare the placebo data to the control data.

The project seeks to develop an effective computer-delivered brief intervention to reduce alcohol use using the Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST). Sixteen different versions of the intervention will be tested with manipulation of common factors (empathy & positive regard), use of a voice, and use of an animated narrator. Participants will include 352 undergraduate students randomly assigned to one intervention condition; follow-up assessments will take place at one and 3 months. The main outcome will be means drink per day over the past 30 day.

The purpose of this research is to examine the effects of long-term aerobic exercise of moderate intensity on psychological, physiological, biochemical, physiological and alcohol-related parameters in heavy drinkers, in order to investigate possible biochemical mechanisms by which exercise may be a healthy alternative to alcohol abuse.

Hepatitis C (HCV) is the most common blood born virus in the United States, affecting 1.8% of the general population and more than 5% of Veterans using VA facilities. As Veterans with HCV have high rates of co-morbid alcohol use disorders that accelerate greatly the liver damage caused by HCV, a safe and effective treatment for alcohol use disorders is needed. Baclofen is a novel treatment for alcohol use disorders that has minimal effect on the liver and may represent a safe and efficacious treatment option for Veterans with HCV and co-morbid alcohol use disorders.

Most alcohol-dependent individuals are heavy smokers. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether a specific smoking cessation program (based on cognitive-behavioral therapy) for inpatient alcohol-dependent smokers is more effective than a control condition (treatment as usual).

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of topiramate in reducing drinking and heavy drinking frequency in problem drinkers. We hypothesize that at a dosage of up to 200mg/day, topiramate will be well tolerated in this patient population and that, compared to placebo treatment, topiramate will result in a greater reduction in the frequency of both drinking days and heavy drinking days.

This study will determine whether varenicline, a drug that acts on the brain's nicotine receptors and is used to help smokers stop smoking, will have an impact on alcohol self-administration. People between 24 and 60 years of age who regularly consume alcoholic drinks (more than 15 drinks per week for women, and more than 20 drinks per week for men) may be eligible for this study. The study requires five outpatient visits and one overnight hospital admission at the NIH Clinical Center. Participants undergo the following procedures: Visit 1 (outpatient: 4-5 hours) Standard assessments, including vital signs measurements, breathalyzer test, blood and urine tests (including pregnancy test for females), questionnaires about mood, symptoms, alcohol use and smoking, if applicable Questionnaires about medical and psychological status Health assessment and assessment of alcohol drinking behavior Visit 2 (outpatient: 8 hours) Standard assessments (see above) Computer-Assisted Self-infusion of Ethanol (CASE) session: Subjects will receive a priming intravenous infusion of alcohol. After 25 min, they will be allowed to give themselves additional exposures of alcohol over a period of 2 hours by pressing a button on a computer that controls the infusion pump. Visit 3 (outpatient: 2 hours) -Standard assessments Visit 4 (outpatient: 8 hours) Standard assessments Brain functional magnetic resonance imaging scan (MRI). This test uses a magnetic field and radio waves to produce images of the brain. The patient lies on a table that can slide in and out of the scanner, wearing earplugs to muffle loud sounds that occur during the scanning process. Initial pictures are taken of the brain's structure and additional scans measure brain activity while the subject performs simple tasks. Alcohol Infusion. Subjects receive an intravenous infusion of alcohol while in the MRI scanner to measure the brain s response to alcohol. Visit 5 (overnight) Standard assessments Repeat CASE session Interview about the subject's experiences participating in the protocol, including any symptoms and urges to drink Visit 6 (outpatient) Standard assessments (without blood tests) Interview about participation in the study Telephone follow-up After 3 weeks, subjects are called to check on their symptoms and gather information on their drinking and, if applicable, smoking.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether Vivitrol is effective at reducing attempts to drive after drinking among repeat driving while intoxicated (DWI) offenders with Ignition Interlock devices.