Science-Based Treatment for Opioid-Dependent Adolescents

The purpose of this study is to evaluate ways to optimize outcomes from combined behavioral-pharmacological treatment for opioid-dependent youth.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

Adolescents are increasingly abusing and becoming dependent on heroin and other opioids. The number of emergency room visits related to heroin among 12-17 year olds rose almost 600%, and the self-reported prevalence of heroin use among this group more than doubled in the last decade. As a result of the increased availability of high-potency, low-cost heroin, many adolescents initiate heroin use by snorting it; however, many often then progress to injection of heroin. Despite the critical need to identify efficacious treatments for this population, virtually no research has been conducted to systematically characterize or evaluate treatment interventions for adolescent heroin and opioid abusers. We recently conducted the first controlled study funded by NIDA to systematically evaluate the efficacy of several pharmacotherapies as detoxification agents along with intensive behavioral interventions in the treatment of this population. The purpose of this study is to evaluate ways to further improve on the promising outcomes from our initial study via combined behavioral-buprenorphine treatment for opioid-dependent youth. The primary aim is to examine if improved treatment outcomes can be achieved if the duration of buprenorphine detoxification is lengthened (when the rate of decrease in buprenorphine dose is slower, withdrawal symptoms may be of reduced intensity and youth are provided with a greater opportunity to learn new skills and behaviors addressing how they might best discontinue their opiate use, prevent relapse, and meet treatment goals). A secondary aim is to examine if the provision of monetary voucher-based incentives contingent on consumption of the opioid antagonist, naltrexone, reduces rates of relapse to opiate use in adolescents post-detoxification compared to when no such incentives are provided. This analysis may provide critical empirical information regarding how to best prevent relapse to opioid use among opioid-dependent youth. Another secondary aim is to identify significant predictors of treatment outcome. We will thus conduct an exploratory evaluation of demographic, baseline drug use, psychological and other history variables that may predict successful treatment outcomes. This work may help inform the refinement of treatment interventions for various sub-populations of opioid-dependent youth. Outcome measures will include opiate and other drug abstinence, retention, opiate withdrawal symptoms, HIV risk behavior, family relationships, as well as a variety of other secondary outcome measures. We plan to collect these measures at intake, during treatment and at several post-treatment follow-up timepoints. Overall, this research will contribute new empirical information that will inform the development of effective treatment interventions for the largely unstudied and rapidly expanding population of opioid-dependent youth.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

80

Phase

  • 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 Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10025
        • Recruiting
        • Behavioral Science Research Unit, St. Luke's Hospital
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Lisa Marsch, PhD

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

Ages Eligible for Study

13 years to 18 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • clinical diagnosis of opioid dependence
  • ages 13-18 years

Exclusion Criteria:

  • active psychosis
  • active suicidality
  • major medical problems (e.g., cardiovascular disease)
  • pregnancy
  • require inpatient detoxification from non-opiate drugs

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
opiate use

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
HIV risk behavior
treatment retention
other drug use
opiate agonist and withdrawal effects
psychological status
family relations
motivation to change drug use
opiate craving
criminal activity

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Lisa Marsch, PhD, National Development and Research Institutes, Inc.

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

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

July 1, 2005

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 10, 2005

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 10, 2005

First Posted (Estimate)

September 16, 2005

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

August 12, 2008

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 11, 2008

Last Verified

August 1, 2008

More Information

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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