Psychopharmacology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Efficacy and safety of the novel α₄β₂ neuronal nicotinic receptor partial agonist ABT-089 in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study.
α(4)β(2) Neuronal nicotinic receptors (NNRs) are implicated in the pathophysiology of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ⋯ In this phase 2 crossover study, the NNR partial agonist ABT-089, at doses of 40 mg QD and 40 mg BID, was efficacious and generally well tolerated in treatment of adults with ADHD.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Varenicline as a smoking cessation aid in schizophrenia: effects on smoking behavior and reward sensitivity.
Smoking rates are up to five times higher in people with schizophrenia than in the general population, placing these individuals at high risk for smoking-related health problems. Varenicline, an α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor partial agonist, is a promising aid for smoking cessation in this population. To maximize treatment efficacy while minimizing risks, it is critical to identify reliable predictors of positive response to varenicline in smokers with schizophrenia. ⋯ These data suggest that affective flattening symptoms in smokers with schizophrenia may predict response to varenicline.
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Male rats are more sensitive to morphine-mediated antinociception than female rats. A role for gonadal hormones in this sex difference has not been clearly defined. ⋯ The modulation of mu-opioid receptor activation of G proteins by manipulation of sex hormones is region-specific and not reflected in antinociceptive responsiveness to morphine.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Subjective, psychomotor, and physiological effects of oxycodone alone and in combination with ethanol in healthy volunteers.
Nonmedical use of prescription opioids is sometimes accompanied by the ingestion of ethanol. Whether ethanol increases the abuse liability-related effects of prescription opioids has not been determined. ⋯ In this study, 10 mg of oral oxycodone combined with a low dose of ethanol generated abuse liability-related effects, but when tested separately, they did not. Further psychopharmacological investigations of this combination are warranted in light of these findings and the fact that nonmedical use of prescription opioids is sometimes accompanied by use of ethanol.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of D-cycloserine and valproic acid on the extinction of reinstated fear-conditioned responses and habituation of fear conditioning in healthy humans: a randomized controlled trial.
Although the effects of D: -cycloserine (DCS) and valproic acid (VPA) on the facilitation of the extinction of fear-conditioned memory have been elucidated in animals, these effects have not been clearly confirmed in humans. ⋯ A single dose of DCS or VPA might enhance exposure-based cognitive therapy of anxiety disorders by reducing the vulnerability to reinstatement and preventing relapses of fear-conditioned responses.