Trial reportBiological psychiatry2009
Varenicline reduces alcohol self-administration in heavy-drinking smokers.
Trial report in Biological psychiatry, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 184 papers, 4 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
184 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 300 citations in OpenAlex.
- The role of nicotinic receptors in alcohol consumption.Pharmacological research · 2023Pooled it
- Efficacy of Varenicline in the Treatment of Alcohol Dependence: An Updated Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Pooled it
- Effects of varenicline and bupropion on laboratory smoking outcomes: Meta-analysis of randomized, placebo-controlled human laboratory studies.Addiction biology · 2022Pooled it
- Risk of neuropsychiatric adverse events associated with varenicline: systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2015Pooled it
- Examining the effects of varenicline and naltrexone on delay discounting among individuals with alcohol use disorder.Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire) · 2025Trial
- Effect of Combination Treatment With Varenicline and Nicotine Patch on Smoking Cessation Among Smokers Who Drink Heavily: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2022Trial
- Varenicline as a treatment for cannabis use disorder: A placebo-controlled pilot trial.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2021Trial
- Alcohol use disorder severity moderates clinical response to varenicline.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2021Trial
- Trial
- Influence of combined treatment with naltrexone and memantine on alcohol drinking behaviors: a phase II randomized crossover trial.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2020Trial
- The Interplay Between Subjective Response to Alcohol, Craving, and Alcohol Self-Administration in the Human Laboratory.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2019Trial
- Longitudinal Findings from a Randomized Clinical Trial of Varenicline for Alcohol Use Disorder with Comorbid Cigarette Smoking.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2019Trial
- Varenicline treatment for methamphetamine dependence: A randomized, double-blind phase II clinical trial.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2018Trial
- Varenicline for tobacco-dependence treatment in alcohol-dependent smokers: A randomized controlled trial.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2018Trial
- Effect of Varenicline Combined With Medical Management on Alcohol Use Disorder With Comorbid Cigarette Smoking: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA psychiatry · 2018Trial
- Effects of varenicline on cognitive performance in heavy drinkers: Dose-response effects and associations with drinking outcomes.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2018Trial
- Mecamylamine treatment for alcohol dependence: a randomized controlled trial.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2018Trial
- Varenicline versus nicotine patch with brief advice for smokers with substance use disorders with or without depression: effects on smoking, substance use and depressive symptoms.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2017Trial
- Effects of varenicline on alcohol cue reactivity in heavy drinkers.Psychopharmacology · 2017Trial
- Effect of Varenicline Combined with High-Dose Alcohol on Craving, Subjective Intoxication, Perceptual Motor Response, and Executive Cognitive Function in Adults with Alcohol Use Disorders: Preliminary Findings.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2016Trial
124 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAlcohol and tobacco dependence are highly comorbid disorders, with preclinical evidence suggesting a role for nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in alcohol consumption. Varenicline, a partial nicotinic agonist with high affinity for the alpha4beta2 nAChR receptor, reduced ethanol intake in rodents. We aimed to test whether varenicline would reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol craving in humans.
methodsThis double-blind, placebo-controlled investigation examined the effect of varenicline (2 mg/day vs. placebo) on alcohol self-administration using an established laboratory paradigm in non-alcohol-dependent heavy drinkers (n = 20) who were daily smokers. Following 7 days of medication pretreatment, participants were first administered a priming dose of alcohol (.3 g/kg) and subjective, and physiologic responses were assessed. A 2-hour alcohol self-administration period followed during which participants could choose to consume up to 8 additional drinks (each .15 g/kg).
resultsVarenicline (.5 +/- SE = .40) significantly reduced the number of drinks consumed compared to placebo (2.60 +/- SE = .93) and increased the likelihood of abstaining from any drinking during the self-administration period. Following the priming drink, varenicline attenuated alcohol craving and reduced subjective reinforcing alcohol effects (high, like, rush, feel good, intoxicated). Adverse events associated with varenicline were minimal and, when combined with alcohol, produced no significant effects on physiologic reactivity, mood, or nausea.
conclusionsThis preliminary investigation demonstrated that varenicline significantly reduced alcohol self-administration and was well tolerated, alone and in combination with alcohol in heavy-drinking smokers. Varenicline should be investigated as a potential treatment for alcohol use disorders.
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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.