Human Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory Study of Varenicline's Impact on Cocaine Reinforcement
Status:
Withdrawn
Trial end date:
2013-08-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Cocaine use, abuse and dependence is a public health problem that is directly responsible for
hundreds of billions of dollars in health care expenditures per year. Relapse rates to
cocaine use are high, creating a pressing need to develop effective therapies for cocaine
dependence. The proposed research will focus on investigating the determinants and
consequences of cocaine dependence via measurement of physiological, behavioral and
subjective effects of acute doses of cocaine in healthy non-drug dependent human volunteers
in the laboratory, and through examination of the effects of pharmacotherapies on the above
effects of cocaine. This study will examine cocaine-derived reinforcement under week-long
sub-chronic varenicline (Chantix) dosing, and under placebo conditions. The study is a
within-subjects crossover design using 24 subjects. Subjects will be screened and consented
into the study at the Treatment Research Center (TRC). Study visits where behavioral and
physiological outcome data will be obtained will be conducted at the Clinical and
Translational Research Center (CTRC) of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
Subjects will be outpatients for this trial, with CTRC sessions scheduled at least one week
apart.