Opioid/Benzodiazepine Polydrug Abuse
Recruiting now
Conditions studied: Polysubstance Abuse
In brief
Benzodiazepine (BZD)/opioid polysubstance abuse (PSA) dramatically increases risks of overdose, disability and death; however, little is known about phenotypes that could be targeted to decrease this use and these associated risks. The opioid abuse epidemic is generating unprecedented numbers of overdoses (OD) and deaths from prescribed and illegal sources (e.g. fentanyl combined with, or sold as, heroin). Yet, medical and epidemiological data suggest these adverse outcomes are not solely due to over-consumption of opioids.The FDA recognizes the health danger of BZD/opioid PSA, and issued labeling changes for prescribing BZDs and opioids. Impact of these changes is unclear and could be minimal if people obtain these substances illegally. BZD abuse can be harmful alone or combined with opioids, as BZDs: (a) contribute to OD/death e.g. 31% of opioid OD-related deaths from 1999 to 2011 were related to coincident BZD use, BZD co-use is dose-dependently related to mortality and rates of BZD OD deaths have sharply increased. (b) exacerbate progression and adverse outcomes of opioid abuse. and (c) worsen behavioral impairment from opioids, increase rates of falls and fractures, motor vehicle accidents, and sleep-disordered breathing. There has been limited systematic research of BZD/opioid PSA. This is a major gap because BZD are often co-prescribed with opioids (in 33 to 50% of cases) and are easily obtained illegally. In response to these problems, there is an urgent need to obtain population-level, clinical pharmacology, and mechanistic data to test our unified hypothesis of dual-deficit in affective/hedonic regulation.
Key facts
- Study ID
- NCT03696017
- Run by
- Wayne State University
- People needed
- 120
- Starts
- 2019-02-08
- Expected to finish
- 2026-12-01
- Last updated by the study team
- 2025-12-30
Who can join
Age: 18 and older, up to 70. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.
You may qualify if…
- Recently admitted and/or not clinically stable in treatment for Substance Use Disorder (SUD) in Wayne County
- Using opioids, benzodiazepines (BZD), or BZD/opioid.
You may not qualify if…
- Participants with current psychosis, bipolar disorder, or severe depression (i.e. severe psychiatric disorder)
- Individuals with serious neurological disorders, e.g. brain tumor, history of stroke, history of traumatic brain injury w/ loss of consciousness
- Cognitive impairment (IQ<80)
Where it is running
- Tolan Park Medical Building — Detroit, Michigan, United States (enrolling)
Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov
Trial information comes from ClinicalTrials.gov and is refreshed daily. TrialsForMe does not provide medical care and does not run the studies it lists.