Cannabis Use Disorder
Conditions
Brief summary
This investigation will preliminarily determine if a course of high-frequency rTMS applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, will reduce behavioral craving, and fMRI cue-reactivity in treatment-seeking cannabis use disordered participants.
Detailed description
The overarching goal of this proposal is to investigate if a course of excitatory DLPFC rTMS results in reduced cannabis behavioral craving in treatment-seeking individuals with CUD (Aim1). Additionally, the investigators seek to explore the mechanistic underpinnings of any observed effect, by collecting functional magnetic resonance imaging data during cannabis cue administration before and after the treatment course (Aim 2). These aims will be addressed through a nine-week, double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled study in which 72 treatment-seeking cannabis use disordered participants (36/group) will be given 20 sessions of either Active or Sham excitatory rTMS applied to the DLPFC. rTMS will be delivered over five weeks (2 sessions each day, two days each week). rTMS will be applied in conjunction with a validated three-session Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) behavioral intervention.
Interventions
DEVICEActive rTMS
rTMS will be delivered via a MagPro double blinded rTMS Research System (MagVenture, Denmark) with a Cool-B65 Butterfly Coil (a combined active and sham coil). We will use a standard resting motor threshold (rMT) determination to determine the TMS dose. Study-treatment will be delivered at 120% rMT. Each active rTMS study-treatment will consist of a total of 4000 pulses of 10Hz stimulation (5s-on,10s-off). Study-treatments will be delivered at the EEG coordinate for F3 (which approximates the left DLPFC), and will be found using the Beam-F3 method.
DEVICESham rTMS
Sham sessions will be delivered using an electronic sham system consisting of a coil that mimics the appearance and sound of rTMS, combined with a TENS device which produces a small electric shock mimicking the feeling of active rTMS. This type of sham has been demonstrated to be indistinguishable from active rTMS.
Sponsors
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Stanford University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Masking description
There is a sham rTMS condition that will allow both participants and investigators to be blinded.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 60 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
1. Participants must be able to provide informed consent and function at an intellectual level sufficient to allow accurate completion of all assessment instruments. 2. Participants must be between the ages of 18 and 60. 3. Participants must meet DSM-5 criteria for at least moderate Cannabis Use Disorder, with use of at least 20 out of the last 28 days. 4. Participants must express a desire to quit cannabis. 5. Participants must have a Positive UDS for cannabis during their baseline visit (confirming they are regular users).
Exclusion criteria
1. Participants must not be pregnant or breastfeeding. 2. Participants must not meet moderate or severe use disorder of any other substance with the exception of Nicotine Use Disorder. 3. Participants must not be on any medications that have central nervous system effects. 4. Participants must not have a history of/or current psychotic disorder or bipolar disorder. 5. Participants must not have any other Axis I condition requiring current treatment and must have a HRSD24 ≤10 indicating no clinically relevant depressive symptoms. 6. Participants must not have a history of Dementia or other cognitive impairment. 7. Participants must not have active suicidal ideation, or a suicide attempt within the past 90 days. 8. Participants must not have any contraindications to receiving rTMS (e.g. metal implanted above the head, history of seizure, any known brain lesion). 9. Participants must not have any unstable general medical conditions.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Marijuana Craving Questionnaire-Short Form Score as a Measure of Behavioral Craving | Baseline (pre) and Week-5 (post) | The investigators hypothesize that as compared to those participants receiving sham rTMS, those participants receiving active rTMS will have a reduced level of behavioral cannabis craving prior to their final rTMS session as compared to prior to their first rTMS session. The investigators will measure behavioral cannabis craving using the marijuana craving questionnaire. Score range: 12 to 84, higher scores represent more craving. |
| Cue Reactivity | Baseline (pre) and Week-5 (post) | The investigators hypothesize that as compared to those participants receiving sham rTMS, those participants receiving active rTMS will have a reduced BOLD response in reward structures (dorsal striatum, ventral striatum, and anterior consulate cortex) during a validated cue-reactivity fMRI paradigm prior to their final rTMS session as compared to prior to their first rTMS session (change score). The following beta scores represent the change score (post-pre) in scans in the drug stimuli minus neutral stimuli subtraction map. Generally, more activation (a positive score) represents more cannabis image cue-reactivity, and the reported range represents standard units as output in the fMRI. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Abstinence | 4-weeks | Number of weeks (out of a total of 4 possible), in the follow-up period, where participants were abstinent from cannabis. Missing data was conservatively assumed to be non-abstinant. More weeks of abstinence is more favourable |
Countries
United States
Participant flow
Participants by arm
| Arm | Count |
|---|---|
| Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) 10 Hz rTMS applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). | 37 |
| Sham rTMS Sham rTMS applied to the left DLPFC. | 35 |
| Total | 72 |
Baseline characteristics
| Characteristic | Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) | Total | Sham rTMS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, Continuous | 29.8 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 9.9 | 30.2 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 9.9 | 30.7 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 10 |
| Ethnicity (NIH/OMB) Hispanic or Latino | 8 Participants | 11 Participants | 3 Participants |
| Ethnicity (NIH/OMB) Not Hispanic or Latino | 29 Participants | 59 Participants | 30 Participants |
| Ethnicity (NIH/OMB) Unknown or Not Reported | 0 Participants | 2 Participants | 2 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) American Indian or Alaska Native | 0 Participants | 1 Participants | 1 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Asian | 3 Participants | 6 Participants | 3 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Black or African American | 8 Participants | 18 Participants | 10 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) More than one race | 1 Participants | 3 Participants | 2 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Unknown or Not Reported | 7 Participants | 11 Participants | 4 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) White | 18 Participants | 33 Participants | 15 Participants |
| Region of Enrollment United States | 37 Participants | 72 Participants | 35 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Female | 12 Participants | 27 Participants | 15 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Male | 25 Participants | 45 Participants | 20 Participants |
Adverse events
| Event type | EG000 affected / at risk | EG001 affected / at risk |
|---|---|---|
| deaths Total, all-cause mortality | 0 / 37 | 0 / 35 |
| other Total, other adverse events | 16 / 37 | 7 / 35 |
| serious Total, serious adverse events | 0 / 37 | 0 / 35 |
Outcome results
Primary
Cue Reactivity
The investigators hypothesize that as compared to those participants receiving sham rTMS, those participants receiving active rTMS will have a reduced BOLD response in reward structures (dorsal striatum, ventral striatum, and anterior consulate cortex) during a validated cue-reactivity fMRI paradigm prior to their final rTMS session as compared to prior to their first rTMS session (change score). The following beta scores represent the change score (post-pre) in scans in the drug stimuli minus neutral stimuli subtraction map. Generally, more activation (a positive score) represents more cannabis image cue-reactivity, and the reported range represents standard units as output in the fMRI.
Time frame: Baseline (pre) and Week-5 (post)
Population: Participants with data at both pre and post time-points were included in the analysis.
| Arm | Measure | Group | Value (MEAN) | Dispersion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) | Cue Reactivity | Ventral Striatum | 0.010 BOLD signal change | Standard Deviation 0.164 |
| Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) | Cue Reactivity | Dorsal Striatum | -0.013 BOLD signal change | Standard Deviation 0.106 |
| Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) | Cue Reactivity | Anterior Cingulate Cortex | 0.003 BOLD signal change | Standard Deviation 0.167 |
| Sham rTMS | Cue Reactivity | Anterior Cingulate Cortex | -0.015 BOLD signal change | Standard Deviation 0.125 |
| Sham rTMS | Cue Reactivity | Ventral Striatum | -0.025 BOLD signal change | Standard Deviation 0.138 |
| Sham rTMS | Cue Reactivity | Dorsal Striatum | -0.022 BOLD signal change | Standard Deviation 0.122 |
Primary
Marijuana Craving Questionnaire-Short Form Score as a Measure of Behavioral Craving
The investigators hypothesize that as compared to those participants receiving sham rTMS, those participants receiving active rTMS will have a reduced level of behavioral cannabis craving prior to their final rTMS session as compared to prior to their first rTMS session. The investigators will measure behavioral cannabis craving using the marijuana craving questionnaire. Score range: 12 to 84, higher scores represent more craving.
Time frame: Baseline (pre) and Week-5 (post)
Population: All participants were included in the analysis using a mixed model, but the post-treatment mean and standard deviation only included available data (participants who completed treatment).
| Arm | Measure | Group | Value (MEAN) | Dispersion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) | Marijuana Craving Questionnaire-Short Form Score as a Measure of Behavioral Craving | Pre | 45.8 score on a scale | Standard Deviation 18.5 |
| Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) | Marijuana Craving Questionnaire-Short Form Score as a Measure of Behavioral Craving | Post | 27.7 score on a scale | Standard Deviation 15.1 |
| Sham rTMS | Marijuana Craving Questionnaire-Short Form Score as a Measure of Behavioral Craving | Pre | 45.2 score on a scale | Standard Deviation 16.3 |
| Sham rTMS | Marijuana Craving Questionnaire-Short Form Score as a Measure of Behavioral Craving | Post | 22.6 score on a scale | Standard Deviation 11.1 |
Secondary
Abstinence
Number of weeks (out of a total of 4 possible), in the follow-up period, where participants were abstinent from cannabis. Missing data was conservatively assumed to be non-abstinant. More weeks of abstinence is more favourable
Time frame: 4-weeks
| Arm | Measure | Value (MEAN) | Dispersion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) | Abstinence | .62 weeks | Standard Deviation 1.21 |
| Sham rTMS | Abstinence | .37 weeks | Standard Deviation 0.77 |