Trial reportAlcoholism, clinical and experimental research2012
A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial assessing the efficacy of levetiracetam extended-release in very heavy drinking alcohol-dependent patients.
Trial report in Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT00970814 (A Phase 2, Double Blind, Placebo Controlled Trial to Assess the Efficacy Of Levetiracetam Extended Release in Very Heavy Drinkers), which is not on this map. Cited by 31 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.
A Phase 2, Double Blind, Placebo Controlled Trial to Assess the Efficacy Of Levetiracetam Extended Release in Very Heavy Drinkers
Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 49 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness of Alcohol Use Disorder Pharmacotherapies by Sex: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Drug and alcohol review · 2026Pooled it
- Cannabidiol as a Novel Candidate Alcohol Use Disorder Pharmacotherapy: A Systematic Review.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2019Pooled it
- Anticonvulsants for alcohol dependence.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2014Pooled it
- The placebo effect in clinical trials for alcohol dependence: an exploratory analysis of 51 naltrexone and acamprosate studies.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2013Pooled it
- Noninvasive Vagus Nerve Stimulation Reduces Withdrawal-Related Affective Distress and Improves Functional Outcomes in Alcohol Use Disorder: A Feasibility and Acceptability Pilot Study.Neuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society · 2025Trial
- A randomized pilot trial of topiramate for alcohol use disorder in veterans with traumatic brain injury: Effects on alcohol use, cognition, and post-concussive symptoms.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2020Trial
- An exploratory evaluation of Take Control: A novel computer-delivered behavioral platform for placebo-controlled pharmacotherapy trials for alcohol use disorder.Contemporary clinical trials · 2016Trial
- Zonisamide, topiramate, and levetiracetam: efficacy and neuropsychological effects in alcohol use disorders.Journal of clinical psychopharmacology · 2015Trial
- Methods to analyze treatment effects in the presence of missing data for a continuous heavy drinking outcome measure when participants drop out from treatment in alcohol clinical trials.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2014Trial
- Topiramate treatment of alcohol use disorder in veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder: a randomized controlled pilot trial.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2014Trial
- Missing Data Sensitivity Analyses for Alcohol Research.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2026Article
- Participant Demographic and Baseline Drinking Factors Can Predict Alcohol Use Disorder Pharmacotherapy Clinical Trial Completion and Drinking Outcomes.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2026Article
- Empirical Derivation and Prediction of Treatment Trajectories in Harmonized AUD Clinical Trial Datasets.Addiction biology · 2025Article
- Predicting individual treatment response in alcohol use disorders: a reverse translational proof-of-concept study.Translational psychiatry · 2025Article
- The Impact of Exercise and Virtual Reality Executive Function Training on Cognition Among Heavy Drinking Veterans With Traumatic Brain Injury: A Pilot Feasibility Study.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2022Article
- Outcome Assessment in Trials of Pharmacological Treatments for Alcohol Use Disorders: Fair and Strict Testing.CNS drugs · 2019Review
- State-of-the-art behavioral and pharmacological treatments for alcohol use disorder.The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse · 2019Review
- Medications development for the treatment of alcohol use disorder: insights into the predictive value of animal and human laboratory models.Addiction biology · 2017Review
- Automatic avoidance tendencies for alcohol cues predict drinking after detoxification treatment in alcohol dependence.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2017Article
- Discovery, Development, and Adoption of Medications to Treat Alcohol Use Disorder: Goals for the Phases of Medications Development.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2016Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
20 authors at 11 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundDespite advances in the development of medications to treat alcohol dependence, few medications have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The use of certain anticonvulsant medications has demonstrated potential efficacy in treating alcohol dependence. Previous research suggests that the anticonvulsant levetiracetam may be beneficial in an alcohol-dependent population of very heavy drinkers.
methodsIn this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial, 130 alcohol-dependent patients who reported very heavy drinking were recruited across 5 clinical sites. Patients received either levetiracetam extended-release (XR) or placebo and a Brief Behavioral Compliance Enhancement Treatment intervention. Levetiracetam XR was titrated during the first 4 weeks to 2,000 mg/d. This target dose was maintained during weeks 5 through 14 and was tapered during weeks 15 and 16.
resultsNo significant differences were detected between the levetiracetam XR and placebo groups in either the primary outcomes (percent heavy drinking days and percent subjects with no heavy drinking days) or in other secondary drinking outcomes. Treatment groups did not differ on a number of nondrinking outcomes, including depression, anxiety, mood, and quality of life. The only difference observed was in alcohol-related consequences. The levetiracetam XR treatment group showed significantly fewer consequences than did the placebo group during the maintenance period (p = 0.02). Levetiracetam XR was well tolerated, with fatigue being the only significantly elevated adverse event, compared with placebo (53% vs. 24%, respectively; p = 0.001).
conclusionsThis multisite clinical trial showed no efficacy for levetiracetam XR compared with placebo in reducing alcohol consumption in heavy drinking alcohol-dependent patients.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.