Rimonabant to Reduce Alcohol Consumption

Healthy Clinical Trial

Official title: Clinical Trial of the Cannabinoid CB1 Receptor Antagonist, SR141716 (Rimonabant), to Reduce Voluntary Ethanol Drinking in Healthy, Non-Treatment Seeking Individuals Who Consume Between 20 and 50 Drinks Per Week

Status Completed

Clinical Trial Summary

This study will examine whether Rimonabant, a drug that blocks cannabinoid-1 (CB1) receptors in the brain, affects alcohol consumption. Substances called endocannabinoids, which have many of the same effects of marijuana, bind to CB1 receptors. Animal studies show that when CB1 receptors are blocked, the animals consume less alcohol.

Healthy normal volunteers between 21 and 40 years of age who consume between 20 and 40 alcoholic drinks per week, drink at least 4 days a week, and are not seeking treatment for alcoholism may be eligible for this study. Candidates are screened with a medical history, including questions about alcohol and drug use, physical examination, blood and urine tests, breath alcohol test, and electrocardiogram.

Participants are asked about their mental health history and use of alcohol, cigarettes and illicit drugs, and fill out questionnaires evaluating their emotional state and personality. Then, they begin a baseline evaluation in which they call a number at the NIH Clinical Center for 21 days to report how much alcohol they drank that day. One week after starting the baseline evaluation, they are randomly assigned to take either Rimonabant or placebo (a pill with no active ingredient) for 2 weeks. Before starting the drug, they have a urine drug screen and measurement of blood alcohol level. After 1 week on the test medication, they return to the Clinical Center to monitor drug or placebo side effects, if any, and to have a blood alcohol level test, urine drug screen, and blood tests for routine blood chemistries. After 2 weeks on the test medication, they come to the Clinical Center at noon for an alcohol self-administration test. Before the test, they are given a breath alcohol test and a urine drug test. The results of both tests must be negative to continue in the study.

The alcohol self-administration test is videotaped. A heparin lock is placed in a vein in the participant's arm. This small needle remains in the arm for the duration of the study to avoid multiple needle sticks for blood draws. Blood is drawn periodically during the test to determine routine laboratory values, cotinine level (assessment of smoking status), the amount of Rimonabant or placebo in the body, and levels of various hormones. Thirty minutes before the test begins and every 30 minutes during the test, participants complete questionnaires and rating scales regarding their mood and desire to drink. Five minutes before the test be...

Clinical Trial Description

Recent studies show that endogenous cannabinoids modulate appetitive behaviors. For example, an antagonist of the CB1 cannabinoid receptor, SR141716, decreases food intake in animals as well as in humans and decreases alcohol consumption in rodent models of voluntary ethanol consumption. In this protocol, individuals consuming between 20 and 40 alcohol drinks per week, and who are not seeking alcohol treatment, will be recruited from the community. Following a one week baseline evaluation, participants will be randomized according to a double-blind design to receive either placebo or SR141716 for two additional weeks prior to being admitted to the hospital to participate in an alcohol self-administration experiment. The design of this experiment has been previously shown by O'Malley et al. (1) to be an effective paradigm to study the effects of medication on alcohol consumption. Following baseline psychological and endocrine measures, participants will receive a priming dose of ethanol designed to raise the breath alcohol levels (BAL) to 0.03 g/dl and then have the opportunity to consume up to eight drinks or to receive $3 dollars for each drink not consumed over a two hour period. It is hypothesized that participants receiving SR141716, compared to those receiving placebo, will have decreased alcohol consumption. Following the study, each participant will be carefully counseled about their alcohol consumption and provided referrals for alcohol treatment. ;

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Alcohol Drinking
• Healthy

• NCT number: NCT00075205
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC)
• Status: Completed
• Phase: Phase 2
• Start date: December 31, 2003
• Completion date: March 15, 2007