Alcohol Addiction
Conditions
Brief summary
About 10% of the calculable loss of health and quality of life in industrial countries can be attributed to excessive alcohol consumption. Behavioural pharmacological, genetic and clinical studies on alcohol dependence suggest a multifactorial model for the development of the disease, which ascribes an important role in the development of the disease to genetic variance, educational style and continued substance use. Animal and human experimental studies suggest that continued alcohol consumption leads to a pathological activation of the mesolimbic reward system. In the presented study, the modification of the alcohol-mediated activation of the mesolimbic reward system by the administration of the opiate antagonist naltrexone will be investigated in a human in vivo model. The aim is to gain important insights for the further development of pharmacological treatment options for alcohol dependence. Further development of pharmacological treatment options for alcohol dependence seems urgently necessary in order to slow down the high tendency to relapse and prolong the short abstinence period.
Interventions
DRUGPlacebo
Placebo oral tablet daily
DRUGNaltrexone
Naltrexone (Nemexin) oral tablet 50 mg daily for 2 days, Naltrexone (Nemexin) oral tablet 100 mg daily for 5 days
Sponsors
RWTH Aachen University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
SEQUENTIAL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
MALE
Age
21 Years to 45 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* age: 21-45 years * The subject is able to understand the nature, extent and individual consequences of the clinical trial * Maintained ability to give consent, certified by a psychiatrist (specialist) * A personally dated informed consent form signed by the test participant * No current and/or historical psychiatric disorder (secured by standardized psychiatric interview (DIAX: Composite International Diagnostic Interview)) * Non-smokers (no nicotine addiction within the last 6 months prior to sequential allocation) * OPRM1 Asp40 carrier (functional polymorphism in amino acid residue 40 of μ-opioid receptor gene (OPRM1)) (in AC for inclusion in first and third treatment arm) * Highly effective contraception method with a failure rate of \<1%: Hormonal contraceptive methods (oral: contraceptive pill, incl. combined oral contraceptives; subcutaneous implants; injectable contraceptives); intrauterine pessary, vasectomy of the partner, tube ligation (sterilisation) or sexual abstinence * Persons who are legally competent and mentally able to understand and follow the instructions of the study staff * MRI capability
Exclusion criteria
* hypersensitivity to the investigational product or a chemically similar substance or component of the investigational product * Participation in other clinical trials during or within 6 months prior to this clinical trial * Medical or psychological circumstances which may jeopardise the proper conduct of the clinical trial * Physical illnesses which could interfere with the planned examinations according to their type and severity, could have an influence on the parameters to be examined or could endanger the volunteer during the course of the examination * Inability to adhere to the study protocol * Limited or completely revoked legal capacity * Acute suicidal tendency or external hazard * Poor overall condition * Participation in a study using ionising radiation in the last five years. * Regular medication (e.g. MAO inhibitors) * Alcohol abuse, alcohol dependency or addiction illness / abuse of addictive substances in history * Existence of other
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Pharmacological effect of naltrexone on the dopamine synthesis rate of a healthy OPRM1 Asp40-bearing men under the influence of alcohol measured with [18F]-fluoro-DOPA PET. | 28 days |
| Dopamine D2 receptor availability in the structures of the ventral and dorsal striatum of a healthy µ-opioid receptor gen (OPRM1, Asp40 Allel)-bearing men under the influence of alcohol measured with [18F]-fallypride Positron Emission Tomography. | 28 days |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Pharmacological effect of ethanol on the dopamine synthesis rate of the ventral and dorsal striatum in healthy men measured with [18F]-fluoro-DOPA PET. | 28 days |
| Pharmacological effect of ethanol on dopamine D2 receptor availability in healthy men measured with [18F]-fallypride Positron Emission Tomography. | 28 days |
| Pharmacological effect of Naltrexone on dopamine D2 receptor availability in healthy men measured with [18F]-fallypride Positron Emission Tomography. | 28 days |
| Pharmacological effect of Naltrexone on the dopamine synthesis rate of ventral and dorsal striatum in healthy men measured with [18F]-fluoro-DOPA PET. | 28 days |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Relationship between impulsive behaviour and functionality of the dopamine synthesis rate and dopamine D2 receptor availability | 28 days | Evaluation of impulsive behaviour using BIS (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale) questionnaire |
| Modulation of extrastriatal dopamine D2/D3 receptor availability measured with [18F]-fallypride in structures of the anterior cingulum using Positron Emission Tomography. | 28 days | — |
| Interaction between subjective alcohol effects and placebo/naltrexone effects | 28 days | Exploratively, the interaction between subjective alcohol effects and placebo/naltrexone effects will be investigated using VAS (visual analogue scale of alcoholic desire) questionnaire. |
Countries
Germany
Outcome results
None listed