Depot Naltrexone Mechanism of Action in Heroin Dependent Patients Using fMRI and SPECT (XRNT)

October 10, 2014 updated by: Wim van den Brink, Academisch Medisch Centrum - Universiteit van Amsterdam (AMC-UvA)

Feasibility, Mechanism of Action and Potential Side Effects of Extended Release Depot Naltrexone in Opioid Dependent Patients

The aim of this project is to study brain functions of 20 heroin addicts (compared to brain functions of 20 healthy controls) just before and during a three month extended release naltrexone treatment using functional MRI and dopamine transporter SPECT.

The following hypotheses are tested:

  • XRNT modulates the fMRI response to drug cues in predetermined brain regions.
  • The expression of striatal transporters (assessed with SPECT) will decrease after a three-month course of extended release naltrexone

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Heroin dependence is a quintessential international health problem, with a significant prevalence. Drug free treatments, including pharmacologically supported interventions using oral naltrexone, have not been very successful, mainly due to low compliance. The recent introduction of Vivitrol®, consisting of monthly injections, may create new opportunities. Vivitrol® is an innovative treatment delivery method that blocks the rewarding effects of heroin.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

40

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

  • Netherlands
      • Amsterdam, Netherlands, P.O. Box 22660
        • Academic Medical Center

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 55 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Heroin dependent patients: have a diagnosis of opioid dependence according to DSM-IV criteria, heroin as primary drug of abuse and inhalation as primary route of administration.
  • Healthy controls: no diagnosis of substance dependence, no current psychotropic medication. Care will be taken to match controls for gender, age, smoking status, IQ and handedness.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Age below 18 or over 55
  • Medical contraindications for XRNT or MRI (Langleben 2006; Langleben, Ruparel et al. 2008). Briefly, the former include candidates with known hypersensitivity to naltrexone,PLG (poly-lactide-coglycolide), carboxymethylcellulose, or any other components of the Vivitrol® diluent, hepatic or renal disease, chronic pain syndromes, female subjects who are pregnant or lactating, or are of child bearing potential and are not using an acceptable method of birth control. MRI contraindications include chronic medical (neurological, cardiovascular, infectious, metabolic, etc) conditions that may affect the brain morphology and/or activity and indwelling foreign metallic or magnetically sensitive objects and devices, such as shrapnel, pacemakers, orthopaedic fixation devices or vascular stents
  • Presence of disorders precluding normal perception of visual and auditory stimuli, such as color blindness, deafness, severe myopia, etc.
  • Patients with a history of or current psychosis or current major depressive disorder with suicidal ideation
  • Patients who are being treated under forced treatment conditions
  • History or evidence of disorders that may affect cerebral function or circulation, such as diabetes and other metabolic disorders, encephalopathy, cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease, history of head trauma with depressed skull fracture or prolonged loss of consciousness and history of brain surgery
  • Female subjects: women who are pregnant or breast-feeding
  • Current psychotropic medication
  • Use of any prescription medications that could affect alertness or the circulatory system
  • IQ < 70
  • Naltrexone use within the past 6 months
  • Baseline aspartate aminotransferase or alanine aminotransferase more than three times the upper limit of normal
  • Patients with no intention to be opioid-free for a minimum of 7 days before starting XRNT treatment

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: Basic Science
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Depot Naltrexone
Drug: Naltrexone
naltrexone for extended-release injectable suspension, 380 mg/vial, every 4 weeks or once a month
Other Names:
  • Vivitrol

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Brain functions
Time Frame: 3 months
Brain functions of 20 heroin addicts just before and during a three month extended release naltrexone treatment using both functional MRI and dopamine transporter SPECT, compared to brain functions of 20 healthy controls.
3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Feasibility and potential efficacy
Time Frame: 3 months
The feasibility and potential efficacy of extended release naltrexone in a pilot sample of 20 Dutch heroin addicts in terms of (a) the percentage of patients that actually starts treatment when invited and (b) the percentage of 3 months retention.
3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Academisch Medisch Centrum - Universiteit van Amsterdam (AMC-UvA)

Collaborators

Alkermes, Inc.
ZonMw: The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Wim van den Brink, MD PhD, Academisch Medisch Centrum - Universiteit van Amsterdam (AMC-UvA)

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

January 1, 2013

Primary Completion (Actual)

October 1, 2014

Study Completion (Actual)

October 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 10, 2011

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 10, 2011

First Posted (Estimate)

November 15, 2011

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

October 13, 2014

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 10, 2014

Last Verified

October 1, 2014

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 60-60600-97-301
  • 2011-001890-15 (EudraCT Number)

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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