Genetics of the Acute Response to Alcohol in Social Drinkers

Stopped early · Phase 1

Conditions studied: Alcoholism, Genetics

In brief

Background: \- Previous research has shown that a person s genes can influence how they respond to alcohol. But researchers do not yet know all the genes that might be involved. Objectives: \- To identify genes that are related to how non-alcoholic individuals respond to alcohol. Eligibility: \- Healthy people between 21 and 30 years of age who have no history of alcohol or drug dependence. Design: * The study requires one or two 9-hour visits to the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. * Participants must not take any medicines (except birth-control pills for women) for at least 3 days before the visit. They must not drink alcohol for at least 2 days before the visit. * Screening includes a medical history, physical exam, and a urine test for drugs of abuse. * Participants will be given alcohol over about 2.5 hours. This will have about the same effect as having three to four drinks. Frequent breathalyzer tests will check breath alcohol level during the infusion. * Before and during the infusion, participants will complete questionnaires about mood and feelings. Other tests will study thinking, balance, judgment, and risk-taking. Blood samples will be collected four times during the infusion. * Participants will have breakfast at the start of the visit (around 8:00 AM). They will have a snack before the start of the alcohol infusion (around 10:45 AM). Lunch will be served after the alcohol infusion is complete (around 2:20 PM). After the tests, those in the study will have to stay in the Clinical Center until their breath alcohol level falls below 0.02%. This can take up to 2.5 hours. A final blood sample will be drawn at that time. Participants will not be able to drive themselves home after the study visits. Also, they should not take any medicines or operate any machinery for at least 2 hours after leaving NIH.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT01375556

Run by

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

People needed

33

Starts

2011-05-26

Expected to finish

2016-01-20

Last updated by the study team

2019-11-29

Who can join

Age: 21 and older, up to 30. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may not qualify if…

• Current or prior history of any disease, including CNS, cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, hepatic, renal, endocrine, or reproductive disorders.
• Positive hepatitis or HIV test at screening.
• Current (i.e., in the past year) diagnosis of Axis-I psychiatric illness.
• Current or lifetime diagnosis of alcohol or substance dependence.
• Currently (i.e., in the past year) seeking treatment for alcohol-related problems.
• Non-drinkers (alcohol-na(SqrRoot) ve individuals or current abstainers), or individuals who have never consumed more than 4 drinks on at least one occasion.
• Current or prior history of alcohol-induced flushing reaction, including rapid reddening of the face, rapid heart rate and breathing, and nausea after 1 or 2 drinks.
• Regular tobacco users will be excluded from the study in order to avoid nicotine withdrawal symptoms. Occasional use of tobacco products (up to 20 cigarettes/week, Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence Score less than 4) is acceptable.
• Positive result on urine drug screen or breathalyzer test at screening
• No regular use of medications for the last 3 months. Use of prescription or OTC medications known to interact with alcohol within 2 weeks of the study. These include, but may not be limited to: isosorbide, nitroglycerine, benzodiazepines, warfarin, anti-depressants such as amitriptyline, clomipramine and nefazodone, anti-diabetes medications such as glyburide, metformin and tolbutamide, H2-antagonists for heartburn such as cimetidine and ranitidine, muscle relaxants, anti-epileptics including phenytoin and phenobarbital codeine, and narcotics including darvocet, percocet and hydrocodone. Drugs known to inhibit or induce enzymes that metabolize alcohol should not be used for 4 weeks prior to the study. These include chlorzoxazone, isoniazid, metronidazole and disulfiram. Cough-and-cold preparations which contain anti-histamines, pain medicines and anti-inflammatories such as aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, celecoxib and naproxen, should be withheld for at least 72 hours prior to each study session.
• Females must not be pregnant or breast-feeding. Female participants will undergo a urine beta-hCG test to ensure they are not pregnant during screening and study visits.

Where it is running

• National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike — Bethesda, Maryland, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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