Most recently, vigabatrin has shown efficacy in clinical studies for www.selleckchem.com/products/gf109203x.html cocaine abusers, and placebo-controlled multisite studies are under way examining it for cocaine dependence.113 Other treatment agents and approaches In addition to the dopaminergic agents and antidepressants, a number of miscellaneous agents, including amantadine, carbamazepine, and buprenorphine, have been examined for cocaine pharmacotherapy. Carbamazepine failed to show therapeutic effects in three Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical controlled studies after an initial enthusiasm.85,114,115 Buprenorphine also has had more negative than positive findings supporting its efficacy in treating cocaine-abusing opiate addicts.116-119 Studies of another
agent, amantadine, have reported mixed results.120-123 In a trial of cocaine-dependent men treated for 10 days with amantadine 100 mg twice daily, urine toxicology screens were more
likely to be free of cocaine among men taking amantadine Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical at the 2-week and 1-month follow-up visits.120 Amantadine 100 mg administered three times daily, however, was no more effective than placebo in reducing cocaine use.122 Amantadine also effectively reduced cocaine use among subjects with severe cocaine withdrawal symptoms at the start of treatment.123 Though Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical results of clinical trials do not appear to support amantadine as a treatment for cocaine dependence, further controlled studies are needed to determine if amantadine is efficacious in cocaine users with high withdrawal severity. Modafinil, a medication used to treat narcolepsy, is a generally well-tolerated with low abuse potential, therefore it is frequently used for off-label indications such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD), depression, and cocaine dependence Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical and withdrawal.124,125 The mechanism of action blunts cocaine euphoria under controlled conditions, acting as a glutamate-enhancing agent.124,126 Reduction in impulse responding has been seen among healthy volunteers as well as in patients with ADHD.127,128 In the first double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 62 cocaine-dependent patients, modafinil reduced cocaine use to a greater extent than placebo. Modafinil patients provided significantly more cocaine-free urine samples compared with placebos, and were more likely to achieve a protracted period of cocaine abstinence.126 Casein kinase 1 Cocaine vaccine Studies evaluating the efficacy of vaccination in cocaine addicts have shown reduction in some cocaine effects. A cocaine vaccine evaluated in clinical trials has used cholera toxin B subunit as a carrier protein linked to norcocaine at the methyl ester group as an immunogen.129 In phase I and early phase II trials of immunogenicity, safety, and efficacy, no serious adverse effects had been found and the vaccine showed a reduction in cocaine effects during human laboratory cocaine administration studies and cocaine use in outpatient studies.