Pilot Study of the Effect of Ibudilast on Neuroinflammation in Methamphetamine Users

NCT ID: NCT03341078

Last Updated: 2026-01-13

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

176 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2019-05-01

Study Completion Date

2025-10-15

Brief Summary

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Addiction to methamphetamine is a serious health problem in the United States. Right now, there are no medications that a doctor can give someone to help them stop using methamphetamine. More research is needed to develop drugs for methamphetamine addiction. Ibudilast (the study drug) is a drug that could help people addicted to methamphetamine.

Detailed Description

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Addiction to methamphetamine is a serious health problem in the United States. Right now, there are no medications that a doctor can give someone to help them stop using methamphetamine. More research is needed to develop drugs for methamphetamine addiction. Ibudilast (the study drug) is a drug that could help people addicted to methamphetamine.

The investigators are interested to know if the study drug can help some symptoms that methamphetamine can cause, specifically inflammation in the brain. Inflammation has been shown to affect decision-making. The study drug has anti-inflammatory properties, however it is not yet known whether the drug will reduce inflammation in the brain.

Conditions

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Methamphetamine-dependence

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Healthy controls will be recruited and have baseline evaluations for neuroinflammation and associated behaviors. Participants with methamphetamine-use disorder will also be recruited and enrolled in a placebo controlled portion of this study. Participants in the placebo controlled portion of this study will be dosed with either the study drug or a placebo twice daily for 6 weeks and will have pre/post evaluations for neuroinflammation and associated behaviors.
Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

DOUBLE

Participants Investigators

Study Groups

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Placebo

Placebo Group will be dosed with a placebo oral tablet twice daily for 6 weeks. Participants will have pre/post evaluations for neuroinflammation and associated behaviors

Group Type PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Placebo Oral Tablet

Intervention Type DRUG

Placebo capsules will be orally ingested twice daily for 6 weeks.

Ibudilast

Ibudilast Group will be dosed with ibudilast twice daily for 6 weeks. The first 2 weeks will be 20 mg twice daily followed by 4 weeks of 50 mg twice daily. Participants will have pre/post evaluations for neuroinflammation and associated behaviors

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Ibudilast

Intervention Type DRUG

Ibudilast capsules will be orally ingested twice daily for 6 weeks.

Controls

Healthy controls will only undergo baseline evaluations and will not be enrolled in the drug portion of the study.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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Ibudilast

Ibudilast capsules will be orally ingested twice daily for 6 weeks.

Intervention Type DRUG

Placebo Oral Tablet

Placebo capsules will be orally ingested twice daily for 6 weeks.

Intervention Type DRUG

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* abstinent from all drugs except marijuana and methamphetamine and have a negative urine drug screen on test days
* Meet diagnosis for recent Methamphetamine-Use Disorder (DSM-V) or does not meet any substance-use disorders

Exclusion Criteria

* Known sensitivity to ibudilast
* Left handed
* MRI contraindications
* Clinically significant neurological, endocrine, renal, hepatic, or systemic diseases that would compromise safe participation or confound outcomes
* Any psychiatric diagnoses or primary psychotic or mood disorders (past depression diagnoses allowed)
* Any drug use disorder diagnosis besides methamphetamine or tobacco
* Any recreational or prescriptive use of psychotropic medications
* Claustrophobia
* Women who are pregnant or breast-feeding
* Neurodegenerative diseases that present with neuroinflammation
* More than 4 weeks abstinent from methamphetamine
* rs6971 genotype that confers low translocator protein (TSPO) binding affinity to prevent unnecessary radiation exposure
* Liver disease requiring medication or medical treatment and/or aspartate or alanine aminotransferase levels greater than 3 times the upper limit
* Participation in any drug study in the last 3 months
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

55 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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Portland VA Medical Center

FED

Sponsor Role collaborator

Oregon Health and Science University

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

VA Office of Research and Development

FED

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Milky Kohno, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

VA Portland Health Care System, Portland, OR

Locations

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VA Portland Health Care System, Portland, OR

Portland, Oregon, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

Other Identifiers

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16768

Identifier Type: OTHER

Identifier Source: secondary_id

18176

Identifier Type: OTHER_GRANT

Identifier Source: secondary_id

20053

Identifier Type: OTHER_GRANT

Identifier Source: secondary_id

NURA-001-17F

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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