OBJECTIVE: Problems related to illegal amphetamine use have become a major public health issue in many developed countries. To date, evidence on the effectiveness of psychosocial treatments has remained modest, and no pharmacotherapy has proven effective for amphetamine dependence. METHOD: Individuals meeting DSM-IV criteria for intravenous amphetamine dependence (N=53) were randomly assigned to receive aripiprazole (15 mg/day), slow-release methylphenidate (54 mg/day), or placebo for 20 weeks. The study was terminated prematurely due to unexpected results of interim analysis. An intention-to-treat analysis was used. The primary outcome measure was the proportion of amphetamine-positive urine samples. RESULTS: Patients allocated to aripiprazole had significantly more amphetamine-positive urine samples than patients in the placebo group (odds ratio=3.77, 95% CI=1.55-9.18), whereas patients who received methylphenidate had significantly fewer amphetamine-positive urine samples than patients who had received placebo (odds ratio=0.46, 95% CI=0.26-0.81). CONCLUSIONS:Methylphenidate is an effective treatment for reducing intravenous drug use in patients with severe amphetamine dependence.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVE: Problems related to illegal amphetamine use have become a major public health issue in many developed countries. To date, evidence on the effectiveness of psychosocial treatments has remained modest, and no pharmacotherapy has proven effective for amphetamine dependence. METHOD: Individuals meeting DSM-IV criteria for intravenous amphetamine dependence (N=53) were randomly assigned to receive aripiprazole (15 mg/day), slow-release methylphenidate (54 mg/day), or placebo for 20 weeks. The study was terminated prematurely due to unexpected results of interim analysis. An intention-to-treat analysis was used. The primary outcome measure was the proportion of amphetamine-positive urine samples. RESULTS:Patients allocated to aripiprazole had significantly more amphetamine-positive urine samples than patients in the placebo group (odds ratio=3.77, 95% CI=1.55-9.18), whereas patients who received methylphenidate had significantly fewer amphetamine-positive urine samples than patients who had received placebo (odds ratio=0.46, 95% CI=0.26-0.81). CONCLUSIONS:Methylphenidate is an effective treatment for reducing intravenous drug use in patients with severe amphetamine dependence.
Authors: Craig R Rush; William W Stoops; Joshua A Lile; Paul E A Glaser; Lon R Hays Journal: Psychopharmacology (Berl) Date: 2010-11-12 Impact factor: 4.530
Authors: William W Stoops; John W Blackburn; David A Hudson; Lon R Hays; Craig R Rush Journal: Drug Alcohol Depend Date: 2007-08-24 Impact factor: 4.492
Authors: Landhing M Moran; Karran A Phillips; William J Kowalczyk; Udi E Ghitza; Daniel A Agage; David H Epstein; Kenzie L Preston Journal: Behav Pharmacol Date: 2017-02 Impact factor: 2.293
Authors: Thomas F Newton; Malcolm S Reid; Richard De La Garza; James J Mahoney; Antonio Abad; Rany Condos; Joseph Palamar; Perry N Halkitis; Jurji Mojisak; Ann Anderson; Shou-Hua Li; Ahmed Elkashef Journal: Int J Neuropsychopharmacol Date: 2008-07-29 Impact factor: 5.176