ArticleAddiction biology2016
The effects of ibudilast, a glial activation inhibitor, on opioid withdrawal symptoms in opioid-dependent volunteers.
Article in Addiction biology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT00723177 (The Safety, Tolerability and Preliminary Efficacy of AV411, a Glial Activation Inhibitor, in Heroin Abusers Under Conditions of Morphine Maintenance and Withdrawal), which is not on this map. Cited by 57 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
The Safety, Tolerability and Preliminary Efficacy of AV411, a Glial Activation Inhibitor, in Heroin Abusers Under Conditions of Morphine Maintenance and Withdrawal
Who cites it
57 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 146 citations in OpenAlex.
- GenomeMUSter mouse genetic variation service enables multitrait, multipopulation data integration and analysis.Genome research · 2024Pooled it
- Reward, relief, and habit drinking profiles in treatment seeking individuals with an AUD.Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire) · 2024Trial
- Sublingual dexmedetomidine (BXCL501) reduces opioid withdrawal symptoms: findings from a multi-site, phase 1b/2, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse · 2023Trial
- The effect of neuroimmune modulation on subjective response to alcohol in the natural environment.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2022Trial
- Effects of Ibudilast on the Subjective, Reinforcing, and Analgesic Effects of Oxycodone in Recently Detoxified Adults with Opioid Dependence.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2017Trial
- Development of the Neuroimmune Modulator Ibudilast for the Treatment of Alcoholism: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Human Laboratory Trial.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2017Trial
- The PPARγ Agonist Pioglitazone Fails to Alter the Abuse Potential of Heroin, But Does Reduce Heroin Craving and Anxiety.Journal of psychoactive drugsTrial
- Does the Neuroimmune Modulator Ibudilast Alter Food Craving? Results in a Sample With Alcohol Use Disorder.Journal of addiction medicineTrial
- The neuroimmune-glutamate hypothesis of addiction.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2026Review
- Preliminary evidence of neuroimmune system disruption in opioid use disorder: Findings from a pilot PET TSPO imaging study.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2026Article
- Therapeutic Effects of Combined 6-Shogaol and Ibudilast on Neuroinflammation and Behavioral Deficits in a Cuprizone Mouse Model of Multiple Sclerosis.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The actions of morphine on microglia and the underlying effects on associated adverse effects.Psychopharmacology · 2026Review
- A Scoping Review of Non-Opioid Therapeutics for Opioid Withdrawal: Translational Relevance to Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS) Research.Clinical and translational science · 2026Article
- Not just neurons: glial mechanisms driving sex-specific vulnerability to withdrawal and relapse in substance use disorder.Frontiers in neuroendocrinology · 2026Review
- Cocaine Use Disorder: Neuropathology and Exploratory Treatments.Molecular neurobiology · 2026Review
- The effect of neuroimmune signalling on drug addiction.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- Impact of antibiotic-induced gut microbiota modulation on morphine analgesia, tolerance, withdrawal, and neurophysiological changes in mice.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Phospho-CREB Regulation on NMDA Glutamate Receptor 2B and Mitochondrial Calcium Uniporter in the Ventrolateral Periaqueductal Gray Controls Chronic Morphine Withdrawal in Male Rats.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2025Article
- Peripheral Blood Cytokines as Markers of Longitudinal Change in White Matter Microstructure Following Inpatient Treatment for Opioid Use Disorders.Biological psychiatry global open science · 2025Article
- Microglia in neuroimmunopharmacology and drug addiction.Molecular psychiatry · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Glial activation is hypothesized to contribute directly to opioid withdrawal. This study investigated the dose-dependent effects of a glial cell modulator, ibudilast, on withdrawal symptoms in opioid-dependent volunteers after abrupt discontinuation of morphine administration. Non-treatment-seeking heroin-dependent volunteers (n = 31) completed the in-patient, double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject and between-group study. Volunteers were maintained on morphine (30 mg, QID) for 14 days and placebo (0 mg, QID) for the last 7 days of the 3-week study. Volunteers also received placebo (0 mg, PO, BID) capsules on days 1-7. On days 8-21, volunteers were randomized to receive ibudilast (20 or 40 mg, PO, BID) or placebo capsules. Subjective and clinical ratings of withdrawal symptoms were completed daily using daily using the Subjective Opioid Withdrawal Scale (SOWS) and Clinical Opioid Withdrawal Scale (COWS). Medication side effects were also monitored. Relative to the first 2 weeks, all groups exhibited withdrawal during the third week as assessed by the SOWS and COWS (P ≤ 0.0001). Although overall SOWS scores did not differ between groups, exploratory analyses pooling the two ibudilast groups demonstrated that they had lower ratings of withdrawal symptoms on SOWS items ('anxious,' 'perspiring,' 'restless,' 'stomach cramps') during detoxification relative to the placebo group. Ibudilast was well tolerated; no serious adverse events occurred during the study. Pharmacological modulation of glial activity with ibudilast decreased some subjective ratings of opioid withdrawal symptoms. These exploratory findings are the first to demonstrate the potential clinical utility of glial modulators for treating opioid withdrawal in humans.
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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.