Trial reportAlcoholism, clinical and experimental research2013
Intranasal oxytocin blocks alcohol withdrawal in human subjects.
Trial report in Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02711189 (Oxytocin in Alcohol Use Disorder), which is not on this map. Cited by 109 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Oxytocin in Alcohol Use Disorder: A Novel and Translational Approach
Who cites it
109 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 194 citations in OpenAlex.
- Chronic oxytocin administration as a tool for investigation and treatment: A cross-disciplinary systematic review.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2020Pooled it
- RETRACTED: Effect of intranasal oxytocin administration on psychiatric symptoms: A meta-analysis of placebo-controlled studies.Psychiatry research · 2015Pooled it
- Intranasal Oxytocin for Alcohol Use Disorder: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Multisite Trial Assessing Efficacy and Safety.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2026Trial
- Intranasal oxytocin blunts amygdala response to negative affective stimuli in males and females with alcohol use disorder: a randomized controlled cross-over trial.Psychopharmacology · 2025Trial
- A randomized controlled trial examining the effects of intranasal oxytocin on alcohol craving and intimate partner aggression among couples.Journal of psychiatric research · 2022Trial
- Effects of oxytocin administration on fear-potentiated acoustic startle in co-occurring PTSD and alcohol use disorder: A randomized clinical trial.Psychiatry research · 2022Trial
- Oxytocin attenuates neural response to emotional faces in social drinkers: an fMRI study.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2021Trial
- Actigraphy assessment of motor activity and sleep in patients with alcohol withdrawal syndrome and the effects of intranasal oxytocin.PloS one · 2020Trial
- Effects of Oxytocin Administration on Cue-Induced Craving in Co-occurring Alcohol Use Disorder and PTSD: A Within-Participant Randomized Clinical Trial.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2019Trial
- Effects of oxytocin on stress reactivity and craving in veterans with co-occurring PTSD and alcohol use disorder.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2019Trial
- Oxytocin Reduces Alcohol Cue-Reactivity in Alcohol-Dependent Rats and Humans.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2018Trial
- Augmenting Prolonged Exposure therapy for PTSD with intranasal oxytocin: A randomized, placebo-controlled pilot trial.Journal of psychiatric research · 2018Trial
- Effects of oxytocin on cortisol reactivity and conflict resolution behaviors among couples with substance misuse.Psychiatry research · 2018Trial
- Oxytocin modulates hemodynamic responses to monetary incentives in humans.Psychopharmacology · 2016Trial
- Oxytocin enhances cognitive control of food craving in women.Human brain mapping · 2016Trial
- The effects of intranasal oxytocin in opioid-dependent individuals and healthy control subjects: a pilot study.Psychopharmacology · 2016Trial
- Effects of adverse childhood experiences on the association between intranasal oxytocin and social stress reactivity among individuals with cocaine dependence.Psychiatry research · 2015Trial
- Lithium carbonate in the management of cannabis withdrawal: a randomized placebo-controlled trial in an inpatient setting.Psychopharmacology · 2014Trial
- Complexity of oxytocin׳s effects in a chronic cocaine dependent population.European neuropsychopharmacology : the journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2014Trial
- Review
49 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe neuropeptide, oxytocin (OT), has been reported to block tolerance formation to alcohol and decrease withdrawal symptoms in alcohol-dependent rodents. Numerous recent studies in human subjects indicate that OT administered by the intranasal route penetrates into and exerts effects within the brain.
methodsIn a randomized, double-blind clinical trial, intranasal OT (24 IU/dose, N = 7) or placebo (N = 4) was given twice daily for 3 days in alcohol-dependent subjects admitted to a research unit for medical detoxification using Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol (CIWA) score-driven PRN administration of lorazepam. Subjects rated themselves on the Alcohol Withdrawal Symptom Checklist (AWSC) each time CIWA scores were obtained. Subjects also completed the Penn Alcohol Craving Scale, an Alcohol Craving Visual Analog Scale (ACVAS) and the Profile of Mood States (POMS) on inpatient days 2 and 3.
resultsAll subjects had drunk heavily each day for at least 2 weeks prior to study and had previously experienced withdrawal upon stopping/decreasing alcohol consumption. OT was superior to placebo in reducing alcohol withdrawal as evidenced by: less total lorazepam required to complete detoxification (3.4 mg [4.7, SD] vs. 16.5 [4.4], p = 0.0015), lower mean CIWA scores on admission day 1 (4.3 [2.3] vs. 11.8 [0.4], p < 0.0001) and day 2 (3.4 [2.2] vs. 11.1 [3.6], p < 0.002), lower AWSC scores on days 1 and 2 (p < 0.02; p = 0.07), and lower ACVAS ratings (p = 0.01) and lower POMS Tension/Anxiety subscale scores on day 2 (p < 0.01).
conclusionsThis is the first demonstration that OT treatment may block alcohol withdrawal in human subjects. Our results are consistent with previous findings in rodents that OT inhibits neuroadaptation to and withdrawal from alcohol. OT could have advantages over benzodiazepines in managing alcohol withdrawal because it may reverse rather than maintain sedative-hypnotic tolerance. It will be important to test whether OT treatment is effective in reducing drinking in alcohol-dependent outpatients.
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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.