Topiramate Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorders in Veterans With Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): A Pilot Controlled Trial of Augmentation Therapy

Summary

The proposed project aims to: 1. Obtain a preliminary assessment of the efficacy of topiramate treatment in reducing alcohol use in veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and alcohol dependence; 2. Obtain preliminary assessments of safety/tolerability of topiramate in these patients; 3. Assess the feasibility of recruitment and retention for topiramate treatment in this comorbid population; and 4) to inform the design of a planned subsequent larger controlled trial of topiramate. PRIMARY HYPOTHESIS: Topiramate treatment combined with Medical Management alcohol counseling will be associated with a significant decrease in percent drinking days from baseline to end of treatment. SECONDARY HYPOTHESIS: There will be significantly less percent drinking days in the topiramate treatment group compared to the placebo group.

Timeline

Start

2010-04

Primary completion

2012-09

Completion

2013-12

Publications

• Background Alderman CP, McCarthy LC, Condon JT, Marwood AC, Fuller JR. Topiramate in combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder. Ann Pharmacother. 2009 Apr;43(4):635-41. doi: 10.1345/aph.1L578. Epub 2009 Mar 31.
• Background Anton RF, O'Malley SS, Ciraulo DA, Cisler RA, Couper D, Donovan DM, Gastfriend DR, Hosking JD, Johnson BA, LoCastro JS, Longabaugh R, Mason BJ, Mattson ME, Miller WR, Pettinati HM, Randall CL, Swift R, Weiss RD, Williams LD, Zweben A; COMBINE Study Research Group. Combined pharmacotherapies and behavioral interventions for alcohol dependence: the COMBINE study: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2006 May 3;295(17):2003-17. doi: 10.1001/jama.295.17.2003.
• Background Anton RF, Moak DH, Latham P. The Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale: a self-rated instrument for the quantification of thoughts about alcohol and drinking behavior. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1995 Feb;19(1):92-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.1995.tb01475.x.
• Background Baker F, Johnson MW, Bickel WK. Delay discounting in current and never-before cigarette smokers: similarities and differences across commodity, sign, and magnitude. J Abnorm Psychol. 2003 Aug;112(3):382-92. doi: 10.1037/0021-843x.112.3.382.
• Background Batki SL, Dimmock JA, Wade M, Gately PW, Cornell M, Maisto SA, Carey KB, Ploutz-Snyder R. Monitored naltrexone without counseling for alcohol abuse/dependence in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. Am J Addict. 2007 Jul-Aug;16(4):253-9. doi: 10.1080/10550490701389732.
• Background Beckham JC, Crawford AL, Feldman ME. Trail making test performance in Vietnam combat veterans with and without posttraumatic stress disorder. J Trauma Stress. 1998 Oct;11(4):811-9. doi: 10.1023/A:1024409903617.
• Background Berlant J, van Kammen DP. Open-label topiramate as primary or adjunctive therapy in chronic civilian posttraumatic stress disorder: a preliminary report. J Clin Psychiatry. 2002 Jan;63(1):15-20. doi: 10.4088/jcp.v63n0104.
• Background Berlant JL. Prospective open-label study of add-on and monotherapy topiramate in civilians with chronic nonhallucinatory posttraumatic stress disorder. BMC Psychiatry. 2004 Aug 18;4:24. doi: 10.1186/1471-244X-4-24.

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Indications