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These data provide new evidence of the feasibility, efficacy, and tolerability of long-lasting antagonist treatments for opioid dependence.

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Despite years of active research, there are still no approved medications for the treatment of cocaine dependence. Modafinil is a glutamate-enhancing agent that blunts cocaine euphoria under controlled conditions, and the current study assessed whether modafinil would improve clinical outcome in cocaine-dependent patients receiving standardized psychosocial treatment. This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted at a university outpatient center (from 2002 to 2003) on a consecutive sample of 62 (predominantly African American) cocaine-dependent patients (aged 25-63) free of significant medical and psychiatric conditions. After screening, eligible patients were randomized to a single morning dose of modafinil (400 mg), or matching placebo tablets, for 8 weeks while receiving manual-guided, twice-weekly cognitive behavioral therapy. The primary efficacy measure was cocaine abstinence based on urine benzoylecgonine levels. Secondary measures were craving, cocaine withdrawal, retention, and adverse events. Modafinil-treated patients provided significantly more BE-negative urine samples (p ¼ 0.03) over the 8-week trial when compared to placebos, and were more likely to achieve a protracted period (X3 weeks) of cocaine abstinence (p ¼ 0.05). There were no serious adverse events, and none of the patients failed to complete the study as a result of adverse events. This study provides preliminary evidence, which should be confirmed by a larger study, that modafinil improves clinical outcome when combined with psychosocial treatment for cocaine dependence.

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Aim Modafinil was tested for efficacy in facilitating abstinence in cocaine-dependent patients, compared to placebo. Methods This was a double-blind placebo-controlled study, with 12 weeks of treatment and a 4-week follow-up. Six outpatient substance abuse treatment clinics participated in the study. There were 210 treatment-seekers randomized, having a diagnosis of cocaine dependence; 72 participants were randomized to placebo, 69 to modafinil 200 mg, and 69 to modafinil 400 mg, taken once daily on awakening. Participants came to the clinic three times per week for assessments and urine drug screens, and had one hour of individual psychotherapy weekly. The primary outcome measure was the weekly percentage of cocaine non-use days. Results The GEE regression analysis showed that for the total sample, there was no significant difference between either modafinil group and placebo in the change in average weekly percent of cocaine non-use days over the 12-week treatment period (p > 0.79). However, two secondary outcomes showed significant effects by modafinil 200 mg: the maximum number of consecutive non-use days for cocaine (p = 0.02), and a reduction in craving (p = 0.04). Also, a post hoc analysis showed a significant effect of modafinil that increased the weekly percentage of non-use days in the subgroup of those cocaine patients who did not have a history of alcohol dependence (p < 0.02). Conclusions These data suggest that modafinil, in combination with individual behavioral therapy, was effective for increasing cocaine non-use days in participants without co-morbid alcohol dependence, and in reducing cocaine craving.

BACKGROUND Empirical evidence has only weakly supported antidepressant treatment for patients with co-occurring depression and alcohol dependence. While some studies have demonstrated that antidepressants reduce these patients’ depressive symptoms, most studies have not found antidepressants helpful in reducing excessive drinking in these patients. We provide results from a double blind, placebo-controlled trial that evaluated the efficacy of combining approved medications for depression (sertraline) and alcohol dependence (naltrexone) for treating patients with both disorders. METHODS 170 depressed, alcohol-dependent patients were randomized for 14 weeks to sertraline (200mg/day), naltrexone (100mg/day), the combination, or placebo, while receiving weekly cognitive behavioral therapy. RESULTS The sertraline + naltrexone combination produced a higher alcohol abstinence rate (53.7%; p = .001; odds ratio = 3.7), and a longer delay before relapse to heavy drinking (98 median days; p = .003; d = .54), than the other treatments: naltrexone (21.3% abstinent, 29 days), sertraline (27.5% abstinent, 23 days), or placebo (23.1% abstinent, 26 days). There also was a trend for more patients in the medication combination group not to be depressed by the end of treatment (83.3%; p = .014; odds ratio = 3.6), compared to the other treatments. The serious adverse event rate was 25.9%, with fewer reported by the medication combination group (11.9%; p < .02) than the other treatments. CONCLUSION More depressed, alcohol-dependent patients taking the sertraline + naltrexone combination achieved abstinence from alcohol, delayed relapse to heavy drinking, reported fewer serious adverse events, and tended not to be depressed by the end of treatment.