2 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
Dr Keith Heinzerling, who is a doctor at UCLA, is doing a research study with Behavioral Health Services in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles to find out if a medication called bupropion can help adolescents (age 14-21) reduce or stop using methamphetamine. Bupropion is a drug that is already on the market, which means it has been approved by the FDA, but it has not been approved to treat methamphetamine abuse. What the study is trying to find out is if bupropion helps people to stop using methamphetamine. The study lasts up to 14 weeks and involves visits to the BHS clinic in Lincoln Heights twice a week. The first two weeks involve completion of questionnaires and assessments, including a physical exam, a blood test, EKG (a test that checks for problems with the electrical activity of a person's heart), and a psychological interview, to see if you are eligible for the study. If you are eligible, then you will be assigned by chance to take either the bupropion pills or placebo pills, which are pills that look the same, but contain no medication. This type of study is called a "double blind study" because neither you nor any of the study staff will know which medication you are taking. During the 8 weeks of taking the pills, you'll visit the clinic to complete additional questionnaires and assessments, to provide urine samples for testing for methamphetamine, and for once a week drug abuse counseling. At the end of your treatment, you'll have another physical exam including blood tests and the same test on your heart and then we'll ask you to come to the clinic once a week for four weeks for follow-up assessments. You'll be compensated for time spent doing research activities and for returning empty medication packages. The total compensation possible is $332 in gift cards for places such as Target, iTunes, groceries, and gas. Your participation in the study is voluntary and deciding not to participate or deciding to stop participating at any time during the study is okay.
The AIMS study compares a methamphetamine-specific treatment intervention to a treatment-as-usual Functional Family Therapy (FFT) approach for adolescents ages 15 to 19. Adolescents are assigned to one of two treatment conditions: (1) 16 weeks of FFT designed to strengthen family relationships and develop skills for helping the adolescent avoid drug use; or (2) 16 weeks of a combination of FFT and a methamphetamine-specific intervention involving group and individual therapy sessions; Families are assessed using questionnaires and interviews, and adolescents participate in neuropsychological testing, before, during, and after treatment to provide information about family functioning, the adolescent's drug use, the adolescent's peers, and other factors that may contribute to treatment success. Adolescents also provide urine specimens for drug screening at assessment visits. Through a partnership with Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), adolescents will participate in functional magnetic resonance imaging appointments at the hospital to examine regional brain blood flow during tasks designed to measure impulsivity and risk-taking behaviors. As a treatment development grant, study investigators will study adolescents' acceptance of and response to the newly developed methamphetamine-specific treatment approach.