Modafinil vs Placebo for the Treatment of Methamphetamine Dependence

• Status: Completed
• Trial end date: 2009-01-01
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

Modafinil is a non-amphetamine type stimulant that acts as a wakefulness-promoting drug, and is approved for managing symptoms of narcolepsy (i.e., daytime somnolence). Its precise mechanism of action in promoting wakefulness remains unclear. This trial is a placebo-controlled double-blind trial of modafinil, on a platform of contingency management (CM) and individual cognitive-behavioral (CBT) counseling, for the treatment of methamphetamine dependence. Participants in this study will complete a 2-week baseline screening period during which they will provide urine samples and complete physical and psychological assessments to establish their eligibility for the study. In addition, participants will be asked to provide a blood or saliva specimen for genetic testing in order to identify genetic variations that influence response to methamphetamine and to treatment with modafinil. Upon successful completion of screening, participants will be randomly assigned to receive either modafinil (400mg qd) or placebo during the 12 weeks of the study. Neither the participants nor study staff will know who is receiving active medication or placebo. Regardless of medication condition, all participants will receive CM and weekly individual CBT counseling sessions to help them stop using methamphetamine and prevent relapse. They will attend the clinical research site (either at the UCLA Hollywood Clinic, or the Rancho Cucamonga site) three times per week, providing urine samples at each visit, completing data measures, and receiving individual CBT counseling on one visit each week. At the end of the 12-week study, the medication or placebo will be discontinued. Participants will return to the research site approximately 30 days following medication discontinuation for a brief health check to assess any possible lingering side effects and complete brief data measures.

• Phase: Phase 2
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Details

• Lead Sponsor: University of California, Los Angeles
• Collaborator: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
• Treatments: Armodafinil; Methamphetamine; Modafinil

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

1. 18 years of age or older;

2. meet DSM-IV criteria for methamphetamine dependence;

3. willing and able to comply with study procedures;

4. willing and able to provide written informed consent;

5. if female, not pregnant or lactating and willing to use an acceptable method of barrier birth control (e.g. condoms) during the trial and for one month after discontinuation of study medication (modafinil may reduce the effectiveness of steroidal contraceptives both during administration and for one month after discontinuation).

Exclusion Criteria:

1. have a medical condition that, in the study physician's judgment, may interfere with safe study participation (e.g., active TB, unstable cardiac, renal, or liver disease, unstable diabetes, or elevated liver enzymes (SGOT or SGPT) greater than 4 times the upper limit of normal);

2. have a current neurological disorder (e.g., organic brain disease, dementia) or major psychiatric disorder not due to substance abuse (e.g., schizophrenia or bipolar illness) as assessed by the SCID and a medical history which would make study agent compliance difficult or which would compromise informed consent, or recent (past 30 days) history of suicide attempts and/or current serious suicidal intention or plan as assessed by the SCID and the BDI-II;

3. currently on prescription medication that is known to interact with the study drug;

4. have current dependence on cocaine, opiates, alcohol, or benzodiazepines, as defined by DSM-IV-TR criteria;

5. have a history of alcohol dependence within the past three years;

6. have a history of mitral valve prolapse, left ventricular hypertrophy, cardiac arrhythmias, angina, myocardial infarction, acute coronary syndrome (unstable angina), cardiac syncope or presyncope, or any EKG abnormalities that suggests the presence of one of these conditions;

7. have a systolic blood pressure greater than 160, a diastolic blood pressure greater than 100 (i.e. cutoffs for stage 2 hypertension), and a heart rate greater than 70% of the maximum heart rate expected for their age (0.70(220-age)) at any of the study visits.

8. any other circumstances that, in the opinion of the investigators, would compromise participant safety;

9. have a history of sensitivity to modafinil.