SynthesisAlcoholism, clinical and experimental research2013
The placebo effect in clinical trials for alcohol dependence: an exploratory analysis of 51 naltrexone and acamprosate studies.
Synthesis 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. Cited by 33 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
33 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 55 citations in OpenAlex.
- Examining the Impact of Trial Length on Detecting Medication Effects for Alcohol Use Disorder: A Meta-Regression Study.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2026Pooled it
- Psychosocial and medication interventions to stop or reduce alcohol consumption during pregnancy.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Baseline severity and the prediction of placebo response in clinical trials for alcohol dependence: A meta-regression analysis to develop an enrichment strategy.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2021Pooled it
- Study Characteristics Influence the Efficacy of Substance Abuse Treatments: A Meta-analysis of Medications for Smoking Cessation.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2020Pooled it
- The placebo effect and its clinical associations in gambling disorder.Annals of clinical psychiatry : official journal of the American Academy of Clinical Psychiatrists · 2017Pooled it
- Placebo eff ects in psychiatry: mediators and moderators.The lancet. Psychiatry · 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
- Effects of dulaglutide on alcohol consumption during smoking cessation.JCI insight · 2023Trial
- Exenatide once weekly for alcohol use disorder investigated in a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial.JCI insight · 2022Trial
- Sodium oxybate for the maintenance of abstinence in alcohol-dependent patients: An international, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2022Trial
- Reduction in Drinking was Associated With Improved Clinical Outcomes in Women With HIV Infection and Unhealthy Alcohol Use: Results From a Randomized Clinical Trial of Oral Naltrexone Versus Placebo.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2019Trial
- Both active and sham low-frequency rTMS single sessions over the right DLPFC decrease cue-induced cravings among pathological gamblers seeking treatment: A randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled crossover trial.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2018Trial
- Precision Medicine in Alcohol Dependence: A Controlled Trial Testing Pharmacotherapy Response Among Reward and Relief Drinking Phenotypes.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2018Trial
- Mecamylamine treatment for alcohol dependence: a randomized controlled trial.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2018Trial
- Acceptability and feasibility of a randomized clinical trial of oral naltrexone vs. placebo for women living with HIV infection: Study design challenges and pilot study results.Contemporary clinical trials · 2017Trial
- A Double-Blind Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial of Oral Naltrexone for Heavy-Drinking Smokers Seeking Smoking Cessation Treatment.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2017Trial
- The impact of focusing a program to prevent heavier drinking on a pre-existing phenotype, the low level of response to alcohol.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2015Trial
- Participant Demographic and Baseline Drinking Factors Can Predict Alcohol Use Disorder Pharmacotherapy Clinical Trial Completion and Drinking Outcomes.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2026Article
- Preregistered multi-site preclinical randomized controlled trials: the beginning of a new day in reverse translational science?Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025Article
- Duration of untreated illness in gambling disorder.CNS spectrums · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe placebo effect often undermines efforts to determine treatment effectiveness in clinical trials. A significant placebo response occurs in alcohol trials, but it is not well understood. The purpose of this study was to characterize the placebo response across multiple naltrexone and acamprosate studies.
methodsFifty-one trials, 3 with a naltrexone and an acamprosate arm, 31 with at least 1 naltrexone arm, and 17 with at least 1 acamprosate arm, were identified from Cochrane reviews and PubMed search. To be included in this study, patients had to be at least 18 years old, abstinent from alcohol before randomization, and meet a diagnosis of alcohol dependence. Pearson correlation coefficients (rp ) and simple linear regression were used to describe the strength of linear relationships between placebo response and treatment effect size. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients (rs ) were used to examine the strength of associations between study characteristics and placebo response.
resultsFor the end point measures of percent days abstinent and total abstinence, a negative relationship was evident between placebo response and treatment effect size in the naltrexone trials (rp = -0.55, p < 0.01 and rp = -0.20, p = 0.35, respectively) as well as in the acamprosate trials (rp = -0.45, p = 0.09 and rp = -0.56, p = 0.01, respectively). The placebo response for percent days abstinent was negatively correlated with mean age of participants (rs = -0.42, p = 0.05) across naltrexone trials and positively correlated with publication year (rs = 0.57, p = 0.03) across acamprosate trials. However, these 2 study characteristics were not significantly correlated with treatment effect size.
conclusionsThe placebo response varied considerably across trials and was negatively correlated with the treatment effect size. Additional studies are required to fully understand the complex nature of the placebo response and to evaluate approaches to minimize its effects.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.