Trial reportThe American journal on addictions
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of venlafaxine for the treatment of depressed cocaine-dependent patients.
Trial report in The American journal on addictions. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 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
17 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association of Single-blind Placebo Run-in Periods With the Placebo Response in Randomized Clinical Trials of Antidepressants: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JAMA psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Comparison of Treatments for Cocaine Use Disorder Among Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JAMA network open · 2021Pooled it
- Pharmacological Treatment of Mood Disorders and Comorbid Addictions: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis: Traitement Pharmacologique des Troubles de L'humeur et des Dépendances Comorbides: Une Revue Systématique et une Méta-Analyse.Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie · 2020Pooled it
- Pharmacotherapy for Cocaine Use Disorder-a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Journal of general internal medicine · 2019Pooled it
- Modified cognitive behavioral therapy (M-CBT) for cocaine dependence: Development of treatment for cognitively impaired users and results from a Stage 1 trial.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2018Trial
- Demographic and clinical characteristics of current comorbid psychiatric disorders in a randomized clinical trial for adults with stimulant use disorders.Psychiatry research · 2016Trial
- Association between venlafaxine use and the risk of withdrawal from nonopioid substances: a nationwide, population-based study.Harm reduction journal · 2026Article
- Venlafaxine treatment is associated with improved mood, but not decreased cocaine self-administration, in depressed people who use cocaine.Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior · 2025Article
- Development of an innovative analytical method for forensic detection of cocaine, antidepressants, and metabolites in postmortem blood using magnetic nanoparticles.Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry · 2024Article
- Pharmacological Treatments for Methamphetamine Use Disorder: Current Status and Future Targets.Substance abuse and rehabilitation · 2024Review
- Potential effect of antidepressants on remission from cocaine use disorder - A nationwide matched retrospective cohort study.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2023Article
- Can pharmacotherapy improve treatment outcomes in people with co-occurring major depressive and cocaine use disorders?Expert opinion on pharmacotherapy · 2021Review
- Medications for substance use disorders (SUD): emerging approaches.Expert opinion on emerging drugs · 2017Review
- Noninvasive brain stimulation treatments for addiction and major depression.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2017Review
- Gambling disorder: an integrative review of animal and human studies.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2017Review
- Evaluation of the "Pipeline" for Development of Medications for Cocaine Use Disorder: A Review of Translational Preclinical, Human Laboratory, and Clinical Trial Research.Pharmacological reviews · 2016Review
- Preventive effect of central administration of venlafaxine on morphine physical dependence, nociception, and blood cortisol level in rat.International journal of preventive medicine · 2014Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveThis study tested the hypothesis that the antidepressant venlafaxine would be an effective treatment for cocaine abusers with concurrent depressive disorders.
methodsThis was a randomized, 12-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of outpatients (N = 130) meeting DSM-IIIR criteria for cocaine dependence and major depression or dysthymia (by SCID interview). Participants were treated with venlafaxine, up to 300 mg/day versus placebo. All patients received weekly individual manual-guided relapse prevention therapy. Weekly outcome measures included Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI), self-reported cocaine use, urine toxicology and the Hamilton Depression Scale (Ham-D).
resultsMood response, defined as a 50% reduction in the Ham-D between randomization and end of study, was 41% (26/64) on venlafaxine, and 33% (22/66) on placebo (p = .39). Measures of depression (Ham-D and CGI) improved more rapidly on venlafaxine than placebo, but these differences disappeared by weeks 6-8. Cocaine outcomes did not differ between treatment groups, and the proportion of patients achieving three or more consecutive weeks of urine-confirmed abstinence was low (venlafaxine: 16%; placebo: 15%). Reduction in cocaine use was associated with mood response.
conclusionsOverall, venlafaxine was not superior to placebo on either mood or cocaine use outcomes. Mood improvement was associated with improvement in cocaine use. However, placebo mood response was only moderate, and the proportion of patients achieving sustained abstinence was low. This suggests that the subgroup of cocaine-dependent patients with depressive disorders is relatively treatment resistant, and that further research is needed to improve outcomes for these patients.
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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.