Trial reportDrug and alcohol dependence2008
Levodopa pharmacotherapy for cocaine dependence: choosing the optimal behavioral therapy platform.
Trial report in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 49 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
49 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 121 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and safety of pharmacological interventions for the treatment of cocaine use disorder: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy for stimulant use disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Comparison of Treatments for Cocaine Use Disorder Among Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JAMA network open · 2021Pooled it
- Combined Pharmacotherapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Adults With Alcohol or Substance Use Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JAMA network open · 2020Pooled it
- "I's" on the prize: A systematic review of individual differences in Contingency Management treatment response.Journal of substance abuse treatment · 2019Pooled it
- Dopamine agonists for the treatment of cocaine dependence.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2015Pooled it
- Extended release mixed amphetamine salts and topiramate for cocaine dependence: A randomized clinical replication trial with frequent users.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2020Trial
- Anhedonia Is Associated with Poorer Outcomes in Contingency Management for Cocaine Use Disorder.Journal of substance abuse treatment · 2017Trial
- Buspirone treatment of cannabis dependence: A randomized, placebo-controlled trial.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2015Trial
- Pilot study of the effects of lisdexamfetamine on cocaine use: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2015Trial
- A two-phased screening paradigm for evaluating candidate medications for cocaine cessation or relapse prevention: modafinil, levodopa-carbidopa, naltrexone.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2014Trial
- Atomoxetine does not alter cocaine use in cocaine dependent individuals: double blind randomized trial.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2013Trial
- Influence of acute bupropion pre-treatment on the effects of intranasal cocaine.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2012Trial
- The effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids in alcohol dependence treatment--a double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study.BMC clinical pharmacology · 2011Trial
- Dronabinol for the treatment of cannabis dependence: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2011Trial
- A placebo-controlled trial of memantine for cocaine dependence with high-value voucher incentives during a pre-randomization lead-in period.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2010Trial
- Contingency management and levodopa-carbidopa for cocaine treatment: a comparison of three behavioral targets.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2010Trial
- Effects of oral methamphetamine on cocaine use: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2009Trial
- High-dose naltrexone therapy for cocaine-alcohol dependence.The American journal on addictionsTrial
- Repurposing semaglutide as an adjunctive treatment for cocaine use disorder: protocol for a randomised controlled trial.BMJ open · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe dopamine precursor levodopa has shown some, albeit relatively weak, promise in treating cocaine dependence. This study sought to identify the most appropriate behavioral therapy platform for levodopa pharmacotherapy by evaluating its effect when administered in combination with behavioral platforms of varying intensities.
methodA total of 161 treatment-seeking cocaine dependent subjects received sustained release levodopa/carbidopa (400/100mg bid, Sinemet) or placebo delivered in combination with Clinical Management (ClinMan); ClinMan+cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT); or ClinMan+CBT+voucher-based reinforcement therapy (VBRT) in a 12-week randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind (for medication condition) trial. Medication compliance was monitored with riboflavin (100mg/capsule) and the Medication Event Monitoring System. Protocol compliance was addressed in weekly, 10-min nurse-delivered ClinMan sessions. Weekly, 1-h CBT sessions focused on coping skills training. VBRT (with escalating reinforcer value) provided cash-valued vouchers contingent on cocaine-negative urine toxicology results. Urine benzoylecgonine assays collected thrice-weekly were analyzed by intention-to-treat criteria using generalized linear mixed models.
resultsLevodopa main effects were found on all outcome measures of cocaine use. Contrasts testing the levodopa-placebo difference within each behavioral platform found reliable effects, favoring levodopa, only in the VBRT platform. Levodopa treatment with vouchers produced higher proportions of cocaine-negative urines and longer periods of consecutive abstinence compared to other treatment combinations.
conclusionThis is the first study to find a significant treatment effect for levodopa and, in doing so, to demonstrate that the magnitude of this effect is dependent upon conditions of the behavioral therapy platform. The data support use of levodopa with abstinence-based reinforcement therapy as one efficacious combination in cocaine dependence disorder treatment.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.