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33 active trials for Alcohol Dependence

Characterization Imaging Instruments in Alcoholics and Non-Alcoholics

Background: - People with alcoholism have differences in their brains compared with healthy people. People who are dependent on alcohol also perform differently on behavioral tasks. Researchers want to find out more about these differences. They also want to see if these differences are related to DNA. Objective: - To see if differences in brain structure relate to personality and behavior differences in people with and without alcohol dependence. Eligibility: - Adults age 18 and older. Design: Participants will visit the NIH Clinical Center once during the study. Participants will be screened with a medical history, EKG, and physical exam. They will give blood and urine samples and undergo a psychiatric interview. Participants will be asked about their alcohol drinking, to see if they have an alcohol use disorder. Participants will play three computerized games. Some will play these games inside a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. MRI: strong magnetic field and radio waves take pictures of the brain. Participants lie on a table that slides in and out of a cylinder. They will be in the scanner for about 90 minutes. They may lie still for up to 20 minutes at a time. The scanner makes loud knocking noises. They will get earplugs.

Start: July 2014

Behavioral and Functional MRI Task Development, Implementation, and Testing

Background: - Scientists know that alcohol use disorders affect brain structure. They want to know more about the effects of alcohol use disorders on a person s behavior. They want to develop tasks that can be done inside a scanner that can help them better understand these effects in later studies. Objective: - To develop tasks that investigate a person s behavior that can be used in later studies. Eligibility: Inpatient participants of another study. They must be physically healthy right-handed adults 18 60 years old. Healthy right-handed volunteers 18 60 years old. Design: Participants will be screened with medical history and physical exam. They will have an EKG to record heart activity. They will give blood and urine samples and have a psychiatric interview. Participants will have between one and three visits. Participants will be asked about their alcohol drinking to see if they have an alcohol use disorder. Participants will complete one of three simple computerized tasks either inside the magnetic resonance imagining (MRI) scanner or outside of it. The MRI scanner takes pictures of the brain. The scanner is a metal cylinder. Participants lie on a table that can slide in and out of the cylinder. They will be in the scanner for about 60 minutes. They may have to lie still for up to 20 minutes. The scanner makes loud knocking noises, but they will get earplugs.

Start: May 2014

Epi-Genetic Modulators of Fear Extinction in Alcohol Dependence

Background: - Researchers want to learn if people with alcohol dependence have more difficulty learning to feel calm, or learn to fear things more easily. They also want to study how early life stress (ELS) affects the ability to learn to feel calm. Objective: - To see if people with alcohol dependence and/or ELS have a harder time learning to feel calm than people without these. Also, to see if DNA is changed by ELS and if this change affects fear conditioning and extinction. Eligibility: Adults ages 21-65 with and without an alcohol use disorder (AUD) and with and without ELS. Healthy volunteers. Design: Participants will be screened with: Medical history Physical exam Blood and urine tests Psychological tests Treatment for symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, if needed Healthy volunteers will have 1 overnight visit (2 days, 1 night). AUD participants will stay at the clinic for about 4 weeks. Participants will: Rate alcohol use/craving, depression, anxiety, and childhood trauma. Have psychophysiological measures: electrodes and mild electric shock. Have a functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. Participants will lie on a table in a metal cylinder with a coil over their head. In the first scanning session, they will see pictures, do a simple task, and may get shocks. Participants will also do a second scanning session in which they will perform the aforementioned fear conditioning and extinction task, as well as a facial expression matching task, an affective word processing task, and a task measuring valuation of monetary rewards. Answer questions about their emotions (some participants). Have blood drawn from an arm vein or intravenous (IV) line. AUD participants will get a dexamethasone pill. The next day, they will get a hormone injected in and have blood drawn from an IV line. AUD participants will have 3 follow-up visits with questions and blood and lab tests.

Start: August 2015

Early Detection of Alcoholic Liver Disease

This is an observational study to identify the prevalence of advanced liver fibrosis among patients with excessive alcohol intake using a non-invasive method (FibroScan®) and to characterize the main environmental, genetic and epigenetic factors that could influence the development of advanced fibrosis. The investigators will include patients 21 years of age or older with excessive alcohol intake, with abnormal AST, ALT, GGT and/or bilirubin, and without any evidence of decompensated liver disease (jaundice, ascites, encephalopathy). Liver fibrosis will be estimated by FibroScan®. A designed questionnaire for studying environmental and psychosocial factors will be filled by the included patients, and blood samples will be obtained to study genetic and epigenetic factors. The patients with advance fibrosis will be referred to the specialist for surveillance and treatment according to current clinical guidelines.

Start: November 2021

Effect of Theta Burst Stimulation on Alcohol Cue Reactivity

Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is prevalent, devastating, and difficult to treat. The intransigence of AUD is readily apparent in the Trauma Unit of Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital, wherein 23% of trauma related admissions are associated with alcohol - higher than the national average of 16%. Of these trauma related admissions, over 70% are estimated to have AUD and 41% will be likely be admitted to the trauma unit again within 5 years. While Dr. Veach (Co-Investigator) and her team in the Department of Surgery have demonstrated that a brief counseling intervention on the inpatient trauma unit can decrease morbidity and recidivism, the rates of AUD and relapse to drinking among these individuals remains very high. With a growing knowledge of the neural circuits that contribute to relapse in AUD, there is an emerging interest in developing a novel, neural-circuit specific therapeutic tool to enhance AUD treatment outcomes. This will be achieved through a double-blind, sham-controlled cohort study in 48 heavy alcohol drinkers with a history of alcohol-related injury. The brain reactivity to alcohol cues (Incentive Salience) and cognitive performance in the presence of an alcoholic beverage cue (Cognitive Control) will be measured immediately before and after participants receive real or sham intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS- a potentiating form of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)) to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC iTBS). The goals of this pilot study are to quantify the acute effect of a single session of real or sham dlPFC iTBS on brain response to alcohol cues (Aim 1) and cognitive flexibility in the presence of an alcohol cue (Aim 2) among risky drinkers (target engagement ).

Start: August 2020

Theta Burst Stimulation as a Tool to Decrease Drinking in Treatment-seeking Alcohol Users

There is growing interest in the utilization of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) as a novel, non-pharmacologic approach to decreasing alcohol use among treatment-seeking individuals with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). The results of this study will be used to determine which of the 2 proposed TMS strategies has a larger effect on drinking behavior (% days abstinent, % heavy drinking days) as well as alcohol cue-reactivity in a 4 month period. These data will pave the way for TMS to be used as an innovative, new treatment option for individuals with AUD.

Start: May 2020

A Double-Blind Trial of Psilocybin-Assisted Treatment of Alcohol Dependence

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.

Start: June 2014

Neurobiological Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Treatment in Alcohol Use Disorder

Background: Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is a complex psychiatric disorder, involving several brain areas and neurocircuits. Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) allows to stimulate superficial areas of brain using a weak electrical current. Preliminary data suggest that tDCS may reduce alcohol craving and consumption. Objectives: The main outcome is to test if tDCS can reduce alcohol craving and use and to assess the changes in BDNF and pro-BDNF levels. Secondary outcomes are the assessment of other psychiatric dimensions (mood, behavioral and cognitive alterations) associated with prolonged alcohol use. Eligibility: Healthy, right-handed adults ages 18-65 who do have AUD (moderate to severe). Design: This is a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled study with three phases: 1) a tDCS intensive treatment phase; 2) follow-up with weekly tDCS stimulation; 3) follow-up without tDCS stimulation. Participants will be screened with: Psychometric Scales Medical history Physical exam Urine tests and breathalyzer After being enrolled, baseline behavioral and laboratory data will be collected. In particular, participants will undergo: Psychometric Scales Venous blood sample (BDNF/proBDNF levels) Participants will be randomized to real or sham tDCS arm. The stimulation will be delivered daily for five days during the first week (intensive treatment phase) and then weekly for 3 months (follow-up with stimulation). During this period patient will be tested with a behavioral and psychometric evaluation.Therefore, participants will receive 3 follow-up monthly visits without tDCS stimulation, in which behavioral and psychometric data will be collected. Treatment includes: tDCS: The tDCS will be delivered with a stimulator connected to two sponge electrodes, soaked in a saline solution. The stimulation will be administered at a current intensity of approximately 1 mA, for the duration of 20 minutes. The anode will be placed on the right DLPFC, the cathode on the contralateral cortical area. BDNF/proBDNF levels: A venous blood sample will be collected before the first stimulation and after the last stimulation of the intensive-stimulation period (first week). The blood sample will be centrifuged within 20 minutes of sampling at 1000 × g for 15 minutes. Then, the serum will be aliquoted and stored at -80 ° C until analysis. Repeat of screening tests and questionnaires Urine toxicological screen and breathalyzer

Start: July 2021

Tech-Enabled CM for AUD at Scale in Medicaid

This Phase II Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) project is a clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness random controlled trial (RCT) of DynamiCare Health's innovative smartphone/smart debit card remote digital coaching program, which integrates Contingency Management, Recovery Coaching, and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), to address alcohol use disorder (AUD) in 300 adult Vermont Medicaid recipients.

Start: January 2021

RCT of Web-Based Behavioral Sleep Intervention for Individuals With Alcohol Use Disorder

Background: Many people with alcohol use disorders have a sleep problem called insomnia. One treatment is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I). Researchers want to study people s experiences with a web-based CBT-I program called SHUTi. Objective: To test if a web-based insomnia therapy program works well and helps people with alcohol use disorders. Eligibility: Adults ages 18-65 who joined another protocol and have been an inpatient on that protocol at least 14 days. Design: Participants will be screened with questions about insomnia. They will wear a device on their wrist and finger for one night while sleeping. This checks for sleep apnea. Participants will complete 1 of 2 programs: SHUTi: Participants will start using the program in the hospital and finish it about 6 weeks later. They will get a computer tablet to access SHUTi at least 3 times a week. They will get surveys, stories, videos, and interactive data about sleep. They will complete at least 5 daily sleep diaries every week. SHUTi will be customized based on the diaries. Education-only program: This is like SHUTi but it is not interactive and is not customized. Participants will access it at least once a week. They will finish at their own pace within 6 weeks. These participants may access SHUTi later. All participants will wear a device on their wrist for 4 straight days at several different time points. It records activity and sleep data. They will do this 3 times. Participants will answer questions about the program before starting it and after finishing. Interviews will be audio recorded. Participants will do follow-up surveys 6-7 months after they are discharged from the hospital.

Start: March 2019

Impact of COVID-19 Outbreak on the Alcohol Consumption in Patients With Alcohol-related Liver Disease (ICoLD)

The lockdown consequent to Coronavirus outbreak has had a differential impact on the drinking behaviour on the general population. The impact is unknown on the people with underlying chronic liver disease related to alcohol as some of them may have complex psychosocial background. The alcohol consumption in people with Alcohol-related Liver Disease (ArLD) is either due to alcohol dependence or related to their lifestyle. Alcohol dependence is a chronic relapsing remitting condition and this is associated with 60% mortality at 5 years in people who continue drinking. Recovery from alcohol-use disorder (AUD) has been made more difficult during lock-down because peer support meetings such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) have no longer been taking place? a majority of the residential rehabilitation centres have closed or are no longer accepting admissions (PHE, 2020) and the single detoxification unit in London has been requisitioned as a COVID-19 step-down facility. The aim of the study is to understand the influence of lockdown on the craving of alcohol and severity of alcohol dependence in patients with ArLD. The results from the study will enable us to identify the factors influencing the drinking behaviour during lockdown and a subsequent impact on episodes of decompensation and mortality.

Start: October 2020

Extended-release Naltrexone and Care Management for Alcohol Dependent Frequent Emergency Department Users

Our primary aim is to assess the feasibility of initiating treatment in the ED with extended-release naltrexone (XR-NTX) plus care management (CM) vs. standard care and continuing care in cooperation with clinic providers as well as how best to assess outcomes. Secondarily, the investigators will explore its effect on various health outcomes (healthcare utilization and engagement, expenditures, drinking and consequences, quality of life) as well as the association of patient-level characteristics (e.g. sex, race, baseline drinking, health and psychosocial factors, mu opioid receptor genotype) with effectiveness. Determining both how to implement XR-NTX+CM and rigorously test its effects in the ED (phase 1) is essential before planning a large-scale effectiveness trial (phase 2).

Start: July 2015

Patient Trajectories for Older Adults Admitted to Hospital for Alcohol-related Problems

Alcohol is contributing to many health problems and disorders, as well as accidents and social problems. Alcohol consumption has been on the rise the past 25 years, especially in Norway. The highest increase is found in older adults, in line with the development in most other countries in the western world. Older adults have a higher risk for alcohol related health problems, due to age related physiological changes, medical conditions and medications. Still, alcohol use is seldom addressed for older people. This means that older people rarely receive help to change alcohol habits. Norwegian health authorities have issued mandates ordering the regional health trusts to implement strategies in somatic hospital wards, mental health services and drug treatment services to identify and treat alcohol and drug problems affecting the patients' health. In this observational study we will explore patient trajectories three years prior to and three years after an admittance to hospital where risky or harmful alcohol consumption is identified and brief interventions are delivered. Hospitals that have implemented such strategies are invited to the study. Patient trajectories are studied in national health registries. This will provide important knowledge on what characterizes the patients identified, and what happens after they have received a brief intervention related to a hospital admittance.

Start: October 2019

A Smartphone Based Intervention for the Prevention of Relapse in Alcohol Dependence

The rate of relapse following an inpatient alcohol rehabilitation program has been around 50% for a number of years. Offered treatments mainly focus on conscious and controllable aspects of behaviour, but research has found that much of the craving in addiction is guided by automatic processes, which are for a large part unconscious and poorly controlled by the individual. One way to influence these automatic processes is by applying cognitive bias modification, a cognitive-behavioural intervention that can be applied by a computer application. In alcohol addition, a common cognitive bias is the Alcohol-Approach bias. The Anti-Alcohol Training is a form of cognitive bias modification that was developed to reduce this approach bias and it has been shown to reduce the rates of relapse by 4-8%. A drawback of the training is that patients do not continue this at home after discharge. One way to increase accessibility is to offer the training in an app-game form. In this study the investigators have developed a smartphone based training app that allows patients to more easily use the Anti-Alcohol training at home after discharge. The study aims to assess whether use of the app further reduces the alcohol bias and whether it can reduce yearly relapse rates.

Start: May 2019

Efficacy of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Alcohol Dependence

Alcohol dependence is one of most common substance dependence, which brings great burden on health worldwide. Alcohol dependence may lead to many serious diseases or consequences including cancer, cardiovascular diseases and accidents. Once alcohol dependence is developed, it will be difficult to recover and easy to relapse. Although many efforts had been made in the treatment of alcohol dependence, the annual recurrence of alcohol dependence with traditional therapies was over 45%. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) or cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) each alone was reported to have some effect on preventing from relapse of alcohol dependence. In order to test whether combined therapy of high frequency rTMS (hf-rTMS) with CBT is better for preventing from relapse of alcohol dependence, we recruit patients with alcohol dependence to participate this study. The study is a factorial designed and the patients will be assigned into one of the following six groups randomly: (1) regular treatment (symptomatic treatment) with blank TMS; (2) regular treatment (RT) with blank TMS and CBT; (3) RT with right DLPFC hf-rTMS; (4) RT with right DLPFC hf-rTMS and CBT; (5) RT with left DLPFC hf-rTMS; (6) RT with left DLPFC hf-rTMS and CBT. TMS was given 5 days per week for total 2 weeks using uniform scheme (5 seconds of 10Hz stimulation per train, 30 trains per day with inter-train interval of 20 seconds). CBT will be given once per week for total 8 weeks. The patients will be followed up for 6 months. Recurrence of alcohol dependence, duration of abstention, alcohol intake, craving for alcohol and other cognitive psychological assessments will be recorded and compared among the 6 treatment groups and the efficacy of combined therapy of rTMS with CBT will be evaluated in our study.

Start: June 2019

TREAT Child Alcohol Use Disorder (C-AUD) in Eastern Uganda

The investigators will investigate the existence of alcohol drinking among children living under adult supervision and care, living within the communities. The investigators will focus on the age group 6-13 years overlapping with the recommended age for primary school attendance. The project is approaching the research topic using quantitative and qualitative methods. The TREAT C-AUD research project will therefore document to which degree alcohol drinking is a problem among children in Mbale, Eastern Uganda.

Start: December 2020

Post-Marketing Surveillance Study of Nalmefene Hydrochloride Hydrate in Patients With Alcohol Dependence

The purpose of this study is to investigate the safety and the prognosis after achieving reduced alcohol intake in patients with alcohol dependence who received treatment for the reduction of alcohol intake in the routine clinical setting in Japan.

Start: October 2019

A Tailored Physical Activity Smartphone App for Patients With Alcohol Dependence

The purpose of the study twofold: first, a smartphone-based physical activity application (app), which will be called Fit&Sober, will be developed and tailored specifically for patients with alcohol use disorders (AUDs); then, the feasibility, acceptability, and short-term increases in physical activity with the use of the Fit&Sober app will be examined over the course of a 12-week intervention.

Start: November 2016

Norepinephrine Transporter Imaging in Addiction Disorders

In this study we propose to study 24 unmedicated abstinent alcohol dependent patients, 24 obese individuals and 24 individually matched healthy control subjects and determine Norepinephrine Transporter (NET) expression in vivo using (S,S)-[11C]MRB and PET.

Start: July 2007

Multimodal Neuroimaging of Stress and Reward Cues to Assess Alcoholism Risk and Relapse

Extending previous findings, and applying a novel multi-method translational approach, this project hypothesizes that there are alcohol-related neuroendocrine and neural changes observable in acute and protracted abstinence, and which can accurately classify future relapse and treatment outcome in separate alcohol dependent (AD) patient samples, thereby validating them as biomarkers of relapse, with potential clinical utility as prognostic markers in identifying and treating those most susceptible to relapse.

Start: November 2015