Effect of LY686017 on Alcohol Craving

Study Summary

This study will determine whether the experimental drug LY686017 can reduce a person's desire for alcohol. A brain chemical called Substance P acts at places in the brain called NK1 receptors. Substance P is released in response to stress and gives rise to behaviors that are thought to represent anxiety. LY686017 blocks Substance P from acting at the NK1 receptors. People between 21 and 65 years of age who have been drinking on a regular basis for at least one month before entering the study, who meet the criteria for alcohol dependence and who have an elevated score on a general test of anxiety may be eligible for this study. Participants are admitted to the NIH Clinical Center for 35 days. They participate in an alcohol treatment program in addition to the research study. After having been withdrawn from alcohol for at least 2 days, participants receive either 50 mg of LY686017 or placebo (an inactive substance that looks like the study drug) every morning for 28 days. In addition to drug treatment, they undergo the following procedures: * Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI): In the last week of the study, subjects undergo MRI to study the amount of blood going to brain structures thought to be involved in anxiety and craving. During the procedure, they look at pictures of faces exhibiting various emotions and pictures related to alcohol. * Cue reactivity: At the beginning and towards the end of the study, subjects are asked to rate their alcohol craving and their anxiety level while they sniff and handle their favorite alcoholic beverage or water. * Metyrapone test: During weeks 1 and 4 of the study, subjects are given metyrapone - a drug that interferes with the body's ability to make the stress hormone cortisol - to determine how LY686017 affects the body's hormonal response. The drop in cortisol from metyrapone administration causes the brain to release ACTH, a hormone that causes the adrenal gland to make cortisol. * Trier test: In the last week o

Primary Outcome

Alcohol craving was measured using the Alcohol Urges Questionnaire (AUQ). This is a self-report rating scale, with scores ranging from 8 (lowest craving value) to 56 (highest craving value).

Conditions Studied

Interventions

• DRUG Placebo
• DRUG LY686017

Study Locations (1)