Efficacy of Escitalopram in the Treatment of Internet Addiction

May 23, 2008 updated by: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
The purpose of this study was to determine whether Lexapro (Escitalopram) is safe and effective in treating problematic internet use.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Many individuals experience marked distress and functional impairments as a result of their perceived inability to control their 'non-essential' (non-job/school related) use of the Internet. Frequently these people develop a preoccupation with the Internet, a need for escape to the Internet, and increasing irritability when trying to cut back use of the Internet. There have been no studies to date looking at the effectiveness of medications in the treatment of this disorder. In our clinical experience, we find these patients with Internet addiction usually respond to serotonin reuptake inhibitors within 12 weeks. This study will examine the efficacy of escitalopram in Internet addiction among adults.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

31

Phase

  • Phase 4

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 65 years (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Subject has signed an informed consent form
  2. Current diagnosis of Internet addiction
  3. Age ³ 18
  4. Subject must be able to take oral medication
  5. Subject may be in psychotherapy initiated at least three months prior to Screening. Subject must not discontinue or otherwise alter this therapy during the study.
  6. In the opinion of the investigator, the subject is capable of complying with all study procedures.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Current suicidal or homicidal ideation
  2. Subject has a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders
  3. Subject has a primary diagnosis of Bipolar I disorder
  4. Current pedophilia
  5. Current DSM-IV diagnosis of substance dependence or abuse, excluding nicotine
  6. Women of child-bearing potential who are pregnant, nursing, or not using contraception
  7. Use of antidepressants at a therapeutic level for the treatment of problematic internet use within 2 weeks prior to study entry (or 4 weeks for use of MAOIs, or 6 weeks for use of fluoxetine)
  8. Current use of antidepressants at a therapeutic level for the treatment of a disorder other than problematic internet use
  9. Subject has any organic mental disorder
  10. Clinically significant unstable medical disorder

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: NA
  • Interventional Model: SINGLE_GROUP
  • Masking: NONE

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: Single Arm
Escitalopram
Drug: Escitalopram
10 mg/day
Other Names:
  • Lexapro

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
length of non-essential Internet use in hours/week as well as CGI-Improvement
Time Frame: baseline and biweekly for 10 weeks
baseline and biweekly for 10 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
ratings on depression, anxiety, impulsivity, self-esteem, obsessive-compulsive symptoms
Time Frame: baseline and biweekly for 10 weeks
baseline and biweekly for 10 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Collaborators

Forest Laboratories

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.

General Publications

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

December 1, 2002

Study Completion (ACTUAL)

October 1, 2004

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 28, 2007

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 29, 2007

First Posted (ESTIMATE)

November 30, 2007

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE)

May 28, 2008

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 23, 2008

Last Verified

May 1, 2008

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • LXP-MD-09
  • 01-1174

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.

Clinical Trials on Internet Addiction

Clinical Trials on Escitalopram

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Denmark

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

3
Subscribe