D-Cycloserine and Cue Exposure in Cocaine-Dependent Individuals

June 6, 2018 updated by: Aimee McRae-Clark, Medical University of South Carolina
In summary, this pilot study will explore the use of an innovative pharmacologic approach to the treatment of substance dependence through the facilitation of extinction of response to cocaine-conditioned cues in cocaine-dependent individuals. If DCS proves successful in this preliminary study, a controlled treatment trial will be planned. This novel approach could have implications for the treatment of multiple substance use disorders including methamphetamine, marijuana and opiate dependence.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Cocaine dependence remains a serious problem in the US today and in spite of two decades of intense research, efficacious pharmacotherapeutic treatments have not been identified. Cocaine-associated environmental cues can elicit drug craving and exposure to cocaine-related cues is likely to be involved in relapse. Emerging data supports the role of glutamate in extinction of associative learning in animal models of rear-conditioning and clinical studies of exposure treatment for anxiety disorders. A recent study demonstrated DCS acceleration of cocaine-induced conditioned place preference in rats. Exploration of DCS in facilitating extinction of response to drug-related cues in humans is needed. The proposed study will extend these innovative and promising findings from the basic science arena and anxiety disorders field in a proof of concept investigation of DCS facilitation of extinction of response to cocaine-related cues in a human laboratory paradigm.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
27

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • South Carolina
      • Charleston, South Carolina, United States, 29425
        • Medical University of South Carolina

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Subjects must be able to provide informed consent and function at an intellectual level sufficient to allow accurate completion of all assessment instruments.
  2. Subjects must meet DSM-IV criteria for current cocaine dependence. Subjects may meet criteria for abuse, but not dependence on any other substance within the past 60 days with the exception of nicotine. Because of the high comorbidity of cocaine and nicotine dependence, excluding nicotine dependence would seriously compromise the feasibility of recruitment. Nicotine use immediately prior to the testing session will be controlled. Alcohol has also been known to affect HPA function, however to enhance recruitment efforts individuals with alcohol dependence or abuse will be included in the study if they do not require medically supervised detoxification.
  3. Use of one of the following methods of birth control by female subjects: barrier methods (diaphragm or condoms with spermicide or both), surgical sterilization, use of an intra-uterine contraceptive device, or complete abstinence from sexual intercourse.
  4. Subjects must live within a 50-mile radius of our research program and have reliable transportation.
  5. Subjects must consent to remain abstinent from all drugs of abuse (except nicotine or alcohol) for 24 hours immediately prior to the GCRC admission.
  6. Subjects must consent to random assignment to the DCS vs. placebo conditions.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Women who are pregnant, nursing or of childbearing potential and not practicing an effective means of birth control.
  2. Subjects with evidence of or a history of significant hematological, endocrine, cardiovascular, pulmonary, renal, gastrointestinal, or neurological disease including diabetes, as these conditions may affect heart rate or skin conductance measurement.
  3. Individuals with creatinine clearance of 1.2 or greater as DCS is renally excreted.
  4. Subjects with a history of or current psychotic disorder, current major depressive disorder, bipolar affective disorder or a severe anxiety disorder as these may impact cue reactivity.
  5. Subjects who are unwilling or unable to maintain abstinent from alcohol and other drugs of abuse (except nicotine) for 24 hours days prior to the cue procedure.
  6. Subjects meeting DSM-IV criteria for substance dependence (other than nicotine or cocaine as appropriate) within the past 60 days.
  7. Subjects currently taking B-blockers, anti-arrythmic agents, psychostimulants or any other agents known to interfere with heart rate and skin conductance monitoring.
  8. Known or suspected hypersensitivity to DCS.
  9. Individuals taking medications that could adversely interact with study medications, including, but not limited to ethionamide, isoniazid, or amino acid supplements.
  10. Subjects with a history of epilepsy or seizure disorder.
  11. Subjects with significant liver impairment as DCS may increase serum transaminases.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: DCS
D-Cycloserine 50 mg is a partial glutamate agonist. Participants received DCS prior to cocaine cue exposure sessions.
Drug: D-cycloserine
50 mg DCS
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
Saline comparator. Participants received placebo prior to cocaine cue exposure sessions.
Drug: Placebo
Placebo

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Cocaine Craving Scale
Time Frame: Immediately following cue exposure
Scale assess cocaine craving following cocaine cue exposure after two administrations of DCS. Subjects rate craving on a scale from 0-10 with 0 indicating "Not at all" and 10 indicating "Extremely".
Immediately following cue exposure

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Medical University of South Carolina

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Aimee L McRae, Pharm.D., Medical University of South Carolina

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 1, 2006

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
July 1, 2008

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
July 1, 2008

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 23, 2008

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 24, 2008

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
October 27, 2008

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
July 6, 2018

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 6, 2018

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
June 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • HR#16454

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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