Study of Medical Treatment for Methamphetamine Addiction
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2013-07-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Currently there are no medications approved for the treatment of methamphetamine addiction.
Bupropion is an antidepressant that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for
the treatment of depression and for cigarette smoking cessation but is not approved by the
FDA for the treatment of methamphetamine addiction. Preliminary research studies suggest that
bupropion may help people receiving treatment for methamphetamine addiction to reduce or to
stop their methamphetamine use. But results of these studies also suggest that bupropion may
help certain groups of patients more than others, such as men versus women and light versus
heavy methamphetamine users, although the reasons for this difference are not known. One
possibility is that a person's genetic make up may influence whether or not they respond to
treatment with bupropion for methamphetamine addiction.
The purpose of the study is to determine if bupropion is can help people reduce or stop their
methamphetamine use and to investigate whether genetic variations influence whether people
respond to treatment with bupropion for methamphetamine addiction, which may help doctors and
patients better decide if treatment with bupropion will be beneficial or not. To identify
possible genetic variations that influence response to bupropion, we will perform genetic
tests on blood or saliva specimens from participants receiving treatment with either
bupropion or placebo (which is a pill that contains no medication) in conjunction with
standard cognitive behavioral therapy drug counseling. We will compare methamphetamine use,
as assessed with urine drug screens, among participants receiving bupropion versus those
receiving placebo to determine if bupropion helps people to reduce or stop their
methamphetamine use. We will then compare the results of the genetic tests among participants
who respond and who do not respond to bupropion. In addition, since the amount of
methamphetamine a person uses was associated with response to bupropion in preliminary
studies, we will also compare the results of genetic testing among persons with heavy versus
light methamphetamine use before entering treatment.
Results of this study have the potential to provide insights into the biology of
methamphetamine addiction and help increase the understanding of how bupropion works. This
information could be useful to develop effective medications for methamphetamine addiction
and to improve the ability of clinicians to provide treatment to patients with
methamphetamine addiction.