The overall goal of this project is to develop initial human data on effects of novel compounds on safety (interactions with oxycodone) and efficacy (subjective response to oxycodone) in non-treatment seeking opioid use disorder subjects. The compound to be studied will be the 5-HT2CR agonist lorcaserin. There are no known or reported adverse interactions between lorcaserin and oxycodone or other opioids.
Lorcaserin is a serotonin (5-HT) 2C receptor agonist (Trade Name Belviq) approved for treatment of obesity. The study teams's preclinical research collaborators and others have shown that lorcaserin and other 5-HT2CR agonists have been shown to reduce drugs of abuse self-administration and cue reactivity in rodents including cocaine and nicotine. Recently, this data has been expanded to opioids. Rats trained to self-administer oxycodone showed a significant reduction in self-administration and oxycodone cue induced lever presses after lorcaserin administration. This is a single center, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, 1b/2a study. 18 subjects are planned. The following treatment regimens will be used: Lorcaserin will be administered at a dose of 10mg twice daily. Placebo or Comparator - identical placebo capsules administered at the same time as lorcaserin.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Enrollment
32
Lorcaserin will be administered at a dose of 10 mg twice daily for 5 days
Placebo will be administered twice daily for for 5 days
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, Virginia, United States
Change in Subjective Response to Oxycodone Measured With 100 Millimeter Visual Analog Scale
Drug liking is measured on a 100 millimeter visual analog rating with one end of the line representing a score of 0 for "not at all" and the other end being a score of 100 or extremely. Participants complete the rating 45 minutes after a 20 mg dose of oxycodone at baseline and after after 5 days of treatment.
Time frame: Baseline to day 5
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