RECRUITING

Behavioral Effects of Drugs (Inpatient): 43 (Opioids, Cocaine, n-Acetylcysteine)

Study Overview

This clinical trial focuses on testing the efficacy of different digital interventions to promote re-engagement in cancer-related long-term follow-up care for adolescent and young adult (AYA) survivors of childhood cancer.

Description

The overarching hypotheses of this protocol are that (1) persistent brain glutamate changes induced by chronic opioid use will exacerbate use of cocaine during opioid physical dependence and withdrawal and (2) n-acetylcysteine (NAC) will ameliorate glutamatergic dysregulation, and thus will reduce both opioid and cocaine demand. These hypotheses will be tested with two specific aims. Specific Aim 1. Determine the reinforcing effects of cocaine in individuals with comorbid opioid and cocaine use disorder with physiological dependence on opioids during NAC maintenance. All subjects will be maintained on oral hydromorphone. They will also be randomly assigned to receive placebo or oral NAC (2.4 g/day), stratified by sex. After dose stabilization, experimental sessions will be conducted in which subjects complete hypothetical cocaine purchase tasks during opioid maintenance and opioid withdrawal. The hypotheses are: 1) cocaine purchasing will be greater during opioid withdrawal and 2) NAC maintenance will attenuate cocaine purchasing across opioid maintenance and withdrawal periods. Specific Aim 2. Evaluate glutamate functionality during periods of opioid maintenance and withdrawal in individuals with comorbid opioid and cocaine use disorder and physiological dependence on opioids during NAC maintenance. Subjects will undergo magnetic resonance spectroscopy to evaluate brain glutamate changes as a function of opioid maintenance/withdrawal state and NAC maintenance. The hypotheses are: 1) glutamate levels will be elevated during opioid withdrawal and 2) NAC maintenance will ameliorate elevated glutamate levels.

Official Title

Glutamatergic Mechanisms in Opioid and Cocaine Co-Use

Quick Facts

Study Start:2022-12-15
Study Completion:2026-12-31
Study Type:Not specified
Phase:Not Applicable
Enrollment:Not specified
Status:RECRUITING

Study ID

NCT05610072

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.

Ages Eligible for Study:18 Years to 55 Years
Sexes Eligible for Study:ALL
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:Yes
Standard Ages:ADULT
Inclusion CriteriaExclusion Criteria
  1. 1. Between the ages of 18 and 55 years,
  2. 2. Report recent use of opioids and cocaine and must not be seeking treatment for their drug use,
  3. 3. Be physically dependent on short-acting opioids,
  4. 4. Meet Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)-5 diagnostic criteria for current opioid use disorder (OUD) and current or past cocaine use disorder (CUD) and have either a urine sample positive for recent opioid use during each visit or if opioid negative, displaying frank withdrawal during screening
  5. 5. Other than the diagnosis for opioid and cocaine use disorder at the time of the screening, subjects must be healthy,
  6. 6. Laboratory chemistries (e.g., blood chemistry screen, complete blood count, urinalysis) and electrocardiogram (ECG) results must be normal or within normal range and any abnormal results must be considered as not clinically significant by the study physicians,
  7. 7. No contraindications to magnetic resonance imagining (MRI; e.g., metallic objects in their body, BMI \> or = 40, claustrophobia) will be considered ineligible,
  8. 8. Female subjects must be using an effective form of birth control (e.g., birth control pills, surgical sterilization, intrauterine device, barrier method, condoms with spermicide, cervical cap with a spermicide or abstinence) to participate and must not be pregnant,
  9. 9. All study subjects will be judged by the medical staff to be psychiatrically and physically healthy.
  1. 1. Any potential subject with a history of serious physical disease, current physical disease (e.g., impaired cardiovascular functioning, histories of seizure, head trauma, diabetes, asthma, or central nervous system \[CNS\] tumors) or current or past histories of serious psychiatric disorder (e.g., schizophrenia) that would limit compliance in the study, other than substance use disorder, will be excluded from research participation,
  2. 2. Potential subjects that meet diagnostic criteria for moderate - severe substance use disorder for substances other than opioids, stimulants, cannabis, or nicotine at the time of the interview will not be eligible for study participation,
  3. 3. Subjects who report a positive first-degree family history of schizophrenia, serious cardiovascular disease, or seizure disorders will also be excluded from research participation.
  4. 4. Subjects with contraindications to hydromorphone or n-acetylcysteine will not be eligible.

Contacts and Locations

Study Contact

William W Stoops, PhD
CONTACT
8592575388
william.stoops@uky.edu

Principal Investigator

William W Stoops
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
University of Kentucky

Study Locations (Sites)

University of Kentucky Laboratory of Human Behavioral Pharmacology
Lexington, Kentucky, 40507
United States
University of Kentucky Department of Behavioral Science
Lexington, Kentucky, 40536-0086
United States

Collaborators and Investigators

Sponsor: William Stoops

  • William W Stoops, PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR, University of Kentucky

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 Registration Dates

Study Start Date2022-12-15
Study Completion Date2026-12-31

Study Record Updates

Study Start Date2022-12-15
Study Completion Date2026-12-31

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

  • Cocaine Use Disorder
  • Opioid Use Disorder