Active clinical trials for "Alcoholism"

The current study investigates the effects of two potential alcohol treatment medications on drinking in a laboratory setting. Aripiprazole (APZ), effects dopamine and serotonin receptors with fewer limiting side effects seen with other atypical antipsychotics. Topiramate (TPMT), an antiepileptic, affects glutamate and GABA-A receptors and shows promise in reducing heavy drinking. Few studies have used two medications with such a diverse combination of actions to examine a potential synergistic effect on reducing alcohol consumption. The primary aims are to: determine if APZ and TPMT are each more effective than placebo, and the combination of APZ and TPMT is more effective than either drug alone or placebo, in reducing alcohol use in non-treatment seeking alcohol dependent subjects in a laboratory based alcohol self-administration experiment (ASAE) examine a hypothesized dose-response for three doses of APZ (0, 7.5 mg/d and 15 mg/d) along with three doses of TPMT (0, 100mg/d and 200mg/d) examine the putative mechanisms of action of APZ, TPMT alone and together on craving, subjective stimulation, candidate gene influences and other behavioral effects associated with alcohol consumption establish the safety of giving APZ and TPMT together. Non-treatment seeking, alcohol dependent Participants (N=216) will be recruited from the community and randomly assigned to one of the 9 cells. Subjects drinking and safety is monitored over a 5-week titration to their target dose, leading to an in-laboratory alcohol self administration session, during which clinical and behavioral effects are assessed during access to alcohol. A 1 month follow-up assesses adverse events and drinking.

Background: There is abundant evidence that rates of comorbidity between substance use and depression are high (1, 2) and the risk of poor outcome is higher among individuals with the dual disorder compared with those with a single disorder (3, 4, 5, 6). Previous research has shown that about 50% of persons studied with severe mental illness and past substance abuse are likely to have a recurrence of substance abuse within 1 year of discharge from treatment (7). There is therefore a clear clinical challenge in treating patients with the dual disorder which may calls for further research and the possible introduction of new and innovative strategies including the use of mobile phone technology to provide increased support for patients with the dual diagnosis. There are established research evidence for using Short Message Service (SMS) text messages to remind patients of scheduled medical appointments (8,9,10,12, 13), coordinate medical staff,(14) deliver medical test results,(15,16) , promote smoking cessation ( 17), improve self-monitoring among the youth with type 1 diabetes( 18), promote weight loss among obese subjects (19 ) and monitor patient side effects following treatment(20). Relevance of the research: To date, after an extensive review of the literature using MEDLINE, Pub Med, ERIC, Web of Science, Science Direct and PsycINFO, no studies was found on the use of SMS text messages as an intervention to address abstinence amongst alcohol dependent subjects who are co-morbid for a depressive disorder. Thus, the investigators seek to determine if text messaging is a useful and effective strategy to help maintain abstinence, improve adherence with medication and ultimately promote mental stability in depressed patients discharged from an in-patient dual diagnosis programme. The investigators hypothesize that, daily supportive/reminder SMS text messages to depressed patients discharged from an in-patient dual diagnosis programme would increase alcohol abstinence rates , improve medication adherence rates and improve the overall mental well being of patients compared with those receiving treatment as usual.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether peer visits (known as "12th Step Calls") and professional counselors (using "Motivational Enhancement Therapy") are effective helping alcoholics link to substance abuse treatment programs after being in the hospital for detox.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of prize contingency management (CM) in reducing in-patient detoxification services for chronic recidivist alcohol-dependent patients.

This is a study of a medication, acamprosate, which is an FDA approved medication for alcohol problems. We will be examining whether acamprosate compared to a sugar pill (placebo) is more effective for helping with drinking in a Family Medicine clinic.

The proposed study, for HIV positive alcohol dependent adults currently taking naltrexone, is a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) examining the outcomes of a 12-week behavioral support program delivered via text-messaging. It is expected that the text messaging intervention will reduce alcohol use and HIV-risk behaviors. The investigators also hypothesize that the intervention will improve adherence to HIV treatment and naltrexone. To test the effects of the intervention on these target outcomes, 25 participants receiving the text messaging intervention will be compared to 25 participants receiving an informational pamphlet. The pamphlet will contain information about the importance of HIV treatment adherence, reducing HIV risk behaviors, and health consequences associated with alcohol use. By providing support to maximize HIV treatment regimen and naltrexone adherence, coupled with coping skills to promote abstinence from alcohol, the text messaging intervention may provide a promising, cost-effective, and easily deployable behavioral support program for alcohol users who are HIV-infected.

The proposed study is a pilot prospective, parallel groups, randomized, double blind, sham training-controlled, 9-session (over 3 weeks) clinical trial of AABM in 32 male and female veterans entering treatment for AUD at the VA Medical Center at San Francisco, California, between ages 18-65. The study consists of screening, 3-week AABM training, Week-4 post-test, and Week-12 follow-up. Assessment of inhibitory control, alcohol approach bias and craving will be administered at baseline and Week-4. Immediately following screening, patients will be randomly assigned to receive 9 sessions of real or sham AABM training (16 subjects each) taking place over three weeks. Following the 3 weeks of training, patients will complete a Week-4 post-test which includes assessment of alcohol approach bias, inhibitory control, and craving and a Week-12 follow-up assessing drinking behavior.

One interesting approach to the treatment of addiction is the use of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) (Shapiro, 1989). Although research on the feasibility and efficacy of EMDR on addiction is limited and often lacks methodological rigor, the results are promising and suggest that further research on this subject is warranted. This proposal consists of two studies to test and determine the acceptability, feasibility and efficacy of EMDR as an intervention to reduce craving and alcohol use in alcohol dependent outpatients as well as to gain further understanding in underlying working mechanisms.

The purpose of this study is to learn how best to treat substance use disorders in an HIV clinic setting. Specifically, the purpose of this pilot study is to learn if extended-release naltrexone (XR-NTX) would be a feasible and acceptable treatment for HIV-infected individuals with opioid or alcohol use disorders.

Several lines of evidence suggest that classic hallucinogens such as psilocybin can facilitate behavior change in addictions such as alcohol dependence. The proposed investigation is a multi-site, double-blind active-controlled trial (n = 180, 90 per group) contrasting the acute and persisting effects of psilocybin to those of diphenhydramine in the context of outpatient alcoholism treatment.