View clinical trials related to Alcoholism.
Filter by:Concept: Alcohol misuse is common among Veterans with PTSD. It has been proposed that this high comorbidity is the result of "self-medication," with alcohol being used to alleviate common PTSD symptoms (e.g., hyperarousal, sleep problems). Given this high prevalence and functional relationship, researchers at the BSD of the NCPTSD developed the VetChange self-management website to concurrently address these conditions. In a large scale RCT, VetChange has shown efficacy to reduce both alcohol misuse and PTSD symptoms. Unfortunately, the recently launched publicly available VetChange website (Vetchange.org) has been plagued by a high rate of visitors not completing the mandatory registration process, which is required for repeated use. Based on the promising findings of the VetChange research, the D&T Division partnered with the BSD Division to develop the VetChange mobile app, which is set to be released to the public very soon. However, unlike the VetChange website, the app has not yet been evaluated and has the advantage of allowing users to easily obtain it without having to register and repeatedly log on through an Internet connection. This research partnership between the D&T and BSD Divisions will extend and enhance an ongoing successful cross-center collaboration in a high priority topic for the larger Center. The purpose of this proposal is to conduct a pilot evaluation of the VetChange mobile app in order to test its feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy to reduce alcohol consumption, PTSD severity, and improve psychosocial functioning among Veterans with PTSD who exhibit signs of problem drinking. In this study, 280 Veterans with problem drinking and clinically significant PTSD symptoms will be recruited using social media and randomized in equal numbers to receive one of four conditions: 1) Assessment only, 2) VetChange mobile app only, 3) AFT plus the VetChange mobile app supplemented with a package of supportive accountability tools (VetChange+). In addition to receiving the mobile app, VetChange+ participants will receive SMS reminders to log drinking behavior using the mobile app. The investigators will track objective use of the VetChange mobile app to assess feasibility, and this usage data will also be used in real-time to tailor the content of text messages provided to participants in the VetChange+ condition. Participants will complete measures of alcohol use, functional well-being, and PTSD symptoms at baseline and again after 8 weeks (posttreatment). At post-treatment, participants in the VetChange app arms of the study will also be asked to report their level of satisfaction with the app and to complete a brief qualitative evaluation of their experience using the VetChange mobile app. Results of this pilot study will be used to characterize the feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of a mobile app-based self-management intervention to reduce problem drinking behavior in Veterans with PTSD, will inform optimization of the intervention, and will serve as the foundation for subsequent proposals for extramural funding.
The investigators hypothesize that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on the right side of the head will make craving towards alcohol less severe in recently detoxified alcohol addicted patients. Although there are successful treatment option to detoxify patients form their alcohol use, many patients tend to relapse. This relapse is mainly caused by a high level of (uncontrollable) craving towards alcohol. This aspect of addiction is with the existing options hard to treat, there is a great need of new successful treatment modalities. rTMS is a FDA approved treatment method for depression. Recently some small scale studies have shown promising results on rTMS in the treatment of addiction. In this study the investigators focus on alcohol addiction since it is the addiction with the highest morbidity and mortality in the Netherlands.
Alcohol dependence is a major health problem worldwide and recently in Israel and it has major health care costs. Cannabis dependence is also a major health issue and many cannabis users find it difficult to quit. Similar to dependence on heavy drugs, alcohol and cannabis-dependent patients find it difficult to quit drinking and smoking cannabis and they relapse to drinking alcohol and using cannabis during treatment. Craving for alcohol and cannabis and withdrawal during detoxification are major factors for relapse to drinking and using cannabis. The cue-exposure and priming paradigms have been used in order to induce craving for alcohol and cannabis in the laboratory. Several studies have delineated the brain mechanisms responsible for cue-induced craving for alcohol using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), a method that can be useful in monitoring progress of treatment. A proven useful medication for treatment of alcohol dependence is the opiate antagonist naltrexone commonly used for treatment of opiate dependence. We have found that cannabis-dependent patients in treatment for cannabis dependence who also were heavy users of alcohol have dropped early from treatment.