Reducing Drug Craving Memories

McGill University

Status: Unknown

Conditions: Cocaine Addiction

Treatments: Drug: Inderal

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01319214

10-039-PSY

Details and patient eligibility

About

The primary objective is to investigate the potential ability of Inderal (propranolol hydrochloride) to diminish the reconsolidation of motivationally potent drug-related cues in cocaine dependent participants. If effective in this laboratory model, Inderal may have clinical efficacy.

Enrollment: 60 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 50 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• 60 psychotropic medication-free men or women (15 subjects x 4 groups) who have met DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria for cocaine dependence for the past 6 months (age 18 - 50 years old);
• Minimum of three days cocaine abstinent on study days;
• Primary use of cocaine is intra-nasal or smoked crack

Exclusion criteria

• Medical conditions that might be aggravated by participation in the study:

  • cardiovascular disorders that might be aggravated by participation in the study: hypotension (SBP: < 100 mmHg), bradycardia (heart rate < 60 /min), severe atrioventricular block (Type II or III), severe hypertension (SBP: > 160 mmHg; DBP: > 100 mmHg), myocardial infarction, history of chest pain and admission to ED for chest pain;
  • respiratory disorders: bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease;
  • diabetic patients treated with insulin or oral hypoglycemic agents. Propranolol may mask the first signs of a developing hypoglycemia.

• Seropositive pregnancy test

• Comorbidity with current axis I psychiatric disorders other than anxiety, affective and substance use disorders

• Severe liver disfunction

• Current or recent (< 5 half lives) use of medications that may interact with Inderal (see above)

• Positive urine tox screen for barbiturates. Positive breath alcohol screen. {Note: all urine tox screen results will be destroyed immediately after collection. The information will not be stored}

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Factorial Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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60 participants in 4 patient groups

Inderal, neutral cues

Experimental group

Treatment:

Drug: Inderal

Inderal, drug cues

Experimental group

Treatment:

Drug: Inderal

Placebo, neutral cues

Experimental group

Treatment:

Drug: Inderal

Placebo, drug cues

Experimental group

Treatment:

Drug: Inderal