[Paleopsych] BH: Anti-sleeping Pill Might Cut Cocaine Habit

[Premise Checker]

Anti-sleeping Pill Might Cut Cocaine Habit
http://www.betterhumans.com/Print/index.aspx?ArticleID=2005-01-10-7

    Betterhumans Staff
    1/10/2005 8:00 PM

    Treatment option? A new study has found that the narcolepsy drug
    modafinil helps people overcome cocaine addiction

    A wake-promoting agent could find a new use as one of the few drugs
    able to treat cocaine dependence.

    According to American researchers at the [8]University of Pennsylvania
    School of Medicine, despite years of research there are still no
    approved drugs for treating [9]cocaine addiction. The wake-promoting
    drug [10]modafinil ([11]Provigil), however, which is approved for
    treating [12]narcolepsy, has attracted attention for its ability to
    blunt cocaine-induced euphoria.

    [13]Charles Dackis of the University of Pennsylvania and colleagues
    have now reported a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that found
    modafinil promoted cocaine abstinence in treatment-seeking
    outpatients. "If confirmed by further investigation, this could be the
    breakthrough we have been waiting for," says Dackis.

    Achieving abstinence

    Conducted between 2002 and 2003, the study involved 62
    cocaine-dependent people aged 25 to 63 who were free of significant
    health conditions. Thirty participants received a single 400 mg dose
    of modafinil in the morning while 32 were giving matching placebo
    tablets. Treatment continued for eight weeks along with twice-weekly
    cognitive behavioral therapy.

    The researchers measured the treatment's primary effectiveness by
    cocaine abstinence based on urine toxicity testing. They also measured
    secondary effects such as the drug's impact on cravings and adverse
    events.

    Over the eight-week study, people treated with modafinil provided more
    cocaine-negative urine samples than those on placebo and were more
    likely to achieve abstinence. The researchers also found no adverse
    effects in those receiving modafinil, and no participant failed to
    complete the study due to side-effects.

    Three larger studies examining modafinil for cocaine dependence are
    underway.
    The research is reported in the journal [14]Neuropsychopharmacology
    ([15]read abstract).

References

    8. http://www.med.upenn.edu/
    9. http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocaine
   10. http://www.modafinil.com/
   11. http://www.provigil.com/
   12. http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcolepsy
   13. http://www.pennhealth.com/Wagform/MainPage.aspx?config=provider&P=PP&ID=980
   14. http://www.nature.com/npp/
   15. http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/npp/journal/v30/n1/abs/1300600a.html