Predicting Alcoholics' Treatment Responses to a Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitor (SSRI)

NCT ID: NCT00249405

Last Updated: 2010-11-03

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

PHASE2

Total Enrollment

200 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2005-02-28

Study Completion Date

2010-10-31

Brief Summary

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This study is being done to determine if citalopram is safe and effective in the treatment of alcohol dependence. A second purpose is to evaluate whether alcohol dependent individuals who differ in a specific genetic marker respond differently to citalopram.

Citalopram is a drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of depression. It belongs to a category of medications called selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors or SSRIs. The U.S. FDA has not approved citalopram for the treatment of alcohol dependence. Therefore, it is being used "off-label" in this study.

Detailed Description

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Relapse to alcoholism remains a vexing clinical and national health problem. Efforts to match alcohol dependent patients to specific treatments based on their clinical characteristics have produced mixed results. Pharmacogenetics (the study of genetic influences on therapeutic response to drugs) offers a powerful new tool to match specific elements of an individual patient's complex genetic blueprint with targeted pharmacotherapies to which that individual may optimally respond.

The purpose of this proposed research is to apply pharmacogenetic techniques to predict which alcohol dependent patients will respond favorably to a trial of a selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI) for the prevention of alcoholism relapse. Our central hypothesis is that genetic differences affecting serotonin transporter function will influence an alcohol dependent individual's treatment response to the SSRI, citalopram. To test this hypothesis, we will perform a 14-week, randomized, double blind, parallel group comparison of citalopram and placebo in treatment seeking outpatients who meet DSM-IV criteria for alcohol dependence. All subjects will receive a single Motivational Interview and 9 brief sessions of a manual-guided Compliance Enhancement Therapy designed to promote treatment adherence and enhance motivation to quit or cut down on drinking. Post-treatment follow-up assessments will be conducted at 4, 12 and 24 weeks. Subjects' DNA will be genotyped to determine allelic variants in the promoter region of the serotonin transporter gene that have been found to markedly affect serotonin reuptake and influence treatment responsiveness to SSRIs.

Conditions

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Alcoholism Alcohol Abuse

Keywords

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Clinical trial Alcoholism Alcohol Pharmacogenetics Citalopram Genotype Therapy compliance Serotonin inhibitor Alcoholism/alcohol abuse therapy

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

TRIPLE

Participants Caregivers Investigators

Study Groups

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1

citalopram

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Citalopram + MI

Intervention Type DRUG

14-week citalopram treatment + Motivational Interview (MI) and 9 brief sessions of a manual-guided Compliance Enhancement Therapy; post-treatment follow-up assessments will be conducted at 4, 12 and 24 weeks.

2

Placebo

Group Type PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Placebo + MI

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

placebo + single Motivational Interview (MI) and 9 brief sessions of a manual-guided Compliance Enhancement Therapy; post-treatment follow-up assessments will be conducted at 4, 12 and 24 weeks.

Interventions

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Citalopram + MI

14-week citalopram treatment + Motivational Interview (MI) and 9 brief sessions of a manual-guided Compliance Enhancement Therapy; post-treatment follow-up assessments will be conducted at 4, 12 and 24 weeks.

Intervention Type DRUG

Placebo + MI

placebo + single Motivational Interview (MI) and 9 brief sessions of a manual-guided Compliance Enhancement Therapy; post-treatment follow-up assessments will be conducted at 4, 12 and 24 weeks.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Other Intervention Names

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celexa

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Outpatients with a diagnosis of DSM-IV alcohol dependence
* Not morbidly obese or underweight
* Express desire to quit or cut down on drinking for duration of trial

Exclusion Criteria

* Clinically significant laboratory evidence of diseases
* Have active psychological disorders other than alcoholism
Minimum Eligible Age

21 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

65 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

NIH

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Cincinnati

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Principle Investigator

Principal Investigators

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Robert M. Anthenelli, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Cincinnati

Locations

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University of Cincinnati

Cincinnati, Ohio, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Thompson RD, Heffner JL, Strong JA, Blom TJ, Anthenelli RM. Relationship between the serotonin transporter polymorphism and obsessive-compulsive alcohol craving in alcohol-dependent adults: a pilot study. Alcohol. 2010 Aug;44(5):401-6. doi: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2010.05.008. Epub 2010 Jul 3.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 20598843 (View on PubMed)

Heffner JL, Tran GQ, Johnson CS, Barrett SW, Blom TJ, Thompson RD, Anthenelli RM. Combining motivational interviewing with compliance enhancement therapy (MI-CET): development and preliminary evaluation of a new, manual-guided psychosocial adjunct to alcohol-dependence pharmacotherapy. J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2010 Jan;71(1):61-70. doi: 10.15288/jsad.2010.71.61.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 20105415 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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R01AA013957

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

NIH Grant R01 AA013957-02

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: secondary_id

NIAAAANT013957-B

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id