Quetiapine in Patients With Bipolar and Alcohol Abuse/Dependence

A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Add-On Trial of Quetiapine in Patients With Bipolar Disorder and Alcohol Abuse/ Dependence.

The abuse of alcohol is especially common in people with bipolar disorder. However, very little is known about the pharmacotherapy of people with both bipolar disorder and alcohol abuse/dependence. The purpose of this study is to determine if alcohol use and cravings are decreased with quetiapine add-on therapy compared to placebo and to determine if quetiapine add-on therapy is associated with greater improvement in mood, impulsivity, functioning and decreased alcohol use than placebo.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Experimental: After obtaining informed consent, 100 patients with bipolar I, or II disorders and alcohol abuse/dependence confirmed by a structured clinical interview (SCID) will be enrolled. from referral sources in the community we have developed over the past 3 years. A medical history and physical examination, including an eye exam with an ophthalmoscope, will also be performed at baseline to rule out serious medical illnesses and cataracts. Baseline labs including a liver panel and CBC will be obtained. Women of child-bearing potential will be given a urine pregnancy test. Baseline measures of psychiatric symptoms will be assessed with the HRSD, YMRS, and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale. Alcohol cravings will be assessed with the Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale (OCDS). Alcohol use including number of drinks/2 weeks, days used in the past two weeks, and days of heavy use will be obtained as will a urine drug/alcohol screen. Alcohol use and cravings will also be recorded throughout the study. Side-effects will be assessed with a general side effects scale, the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS), Simpson-Angus Scale (SAS), and Barnes Akathesia Rating Scale (BARS). GGT levels will also be repeated at weeks 6 and 12. The subjects will be randomized and receive quetiapine or identical appearing placebo add-on therapy in a double-blind fashion for 12 weeks. Subjects will return every two weeks for reevaluation with the above outcome measures and for upward titration of study drug. All subjects will be given the option of receiving open-label quetiapine for an additional 4 weeks (with continuing assessment of mood and alcohol use/cravings every 2 weeks) at the end of the study or discontinuing medication.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

115

Phase

  • Phase 4

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

    • Texas
      • Dallas, Texas, United States, 75390-8843
        • The UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

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

18 years to 70 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Bipolar I or II
  • Ages 18-70

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Life threatening medical condition causing participation in the study hazardous
  • Alcohol abuse within the past 2 weeks
  • History of cataracts or likely cataracts on baseline eye exam
  • History of hepatic cirrhosis or AST or ALT more than three times normal limit
  • Current active suicidal or homicidal ideation
  • History of allergic reaction, poor response or intolerable side effects to quetiapine
  • Antipsychotic use within 7 days of beginning quetiapine therapy
  • Mental retardation, dementia or other severe cognitive impairment

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: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
Inactive ingredient matching the active medication in appearance
Active Comparator: Quetiapine

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Number of Standard Drinks
Time Frame: Weekly
Weekly

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: E. Sherwood Brown, Ph.D., M.D., The UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

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

November 1, 2002

Primary Completion (Actual)

August 1, 2004

Study Completion (Actual)

August 1, 2004

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 15, 2005

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 15, 2005

First Posted (Estimate)

September 22, 2005

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

April 4, 2016

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 1, 2016

Last Verified

April 1, 2016

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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