In summary, this pilot study will explore the use of an innovative pharmacologic approach to the treatment of substance dependence through the facilitation of extinction of response to cocaine-conditioned cues in cocaine-dependent individuals. If DCS proves successful in this preliminary study, a controlled treatment trial will be planned. This novel approach could have implications for the treatment of multiple substance use disorders including methamphetamine, marijuana and opiate dependence.
Cocaine dependence remains a serious problem in the US today and in spite of two decades of intense research, efficacious pharmacotherapeutic treatments have not been identified. Cocaine-associated environmental cues can elicit drug craving and exposure to cocaine-related cues is likely to be involved in relapse. Emerging data supports the role of glutamate in extinction of associative learning in animal models of rear-conditioning and clinical studies of exposure treatment for anxiety disorders. A recent study demonstrated DCS acceleration of cocaine-induced conditioned place preference in rats. Exploration of DCS in facilitating extinction of response to drug-related cues in humans is needed. The proposed study will extend these innovative and promising findings from the basic science arena and anxiety disorders field in a proof of concept investigation of DCS facilitation of extinction of response to cocaine-related cues in a human laboratory paradigm.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
27
50 mg DCS
Placebo
Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina, United States
Cocaine Craving Scale
Scale assess cocaine craving following cocaine cue exposure after two administrations of DCS. Subjects rate craving on a scale from 0-10 with 0 indicating "Not at all" and 10 indicating "Extremely".
Time frame: Immediately following cue exposure
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