Trial reportAddiction (Abingdon, England)2017
PPAR-gamma agonist pioglitazone modifies craving intensity and brain white matter integrity in patients with primary cocaine use disorder: a double-blind randomized controlled pilot trial.
Trial report in Addiction (Abingdon, England), 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 3 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 72 citations in OpenAlex.
- A meta-analysis of tract-based spatial statistics studies examining white matter integrity in cocaine use disorder.Addiction biology · 2021Pooled it
- Pharmacotherapy for Cocaine Use Disorder-a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Journal of general internal medicine · 2019Pooled it
- Regional differences in white matter integrity in stimulant use disorders: A meta-analysis of diffusion tensor imaging studies.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2019Pooled it
- Pioglitazone for the treatment of alcohol use disorder: A randomized controlled trial.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2026Trial
- The role of Iowa gambling task performance in response to citalopram treatment for cocaine use disorder.The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse · 2025Trial
- Exenatide Adjunct to Nicotine Patch Facilitates Smoking Cessation and May Reduce Post-Cessation Weight Gain: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2021Trial
- Treating Hypertension in Children WithPediatrics · 2019Trial
- Trial
- Assessment of pioglitazone and proinflammatory cytokines during buprenorphine taper in patients with opioid use disorder.Psychopharmacology · 2018Trial
- Repurposing semaglutide as an adjunctive treatment for cocaine use disorder: protocol for a randomised controlled trial.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Cannabinoid-based Pharmacology for the Management of Substance Use Disorders.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2026Review
- Emerging medications and pharmacological treatment approaches for substance use disorders.Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior · 2025Review
- Substance Addiction Rehabilitation Drugs.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Promising immunomodulators for management of substance and alcohol use disorders.Expert opinion on pharmacotherapy · 2024Review
- Neuroimmune modulators as novel pharmacotherapies for substance use disorders.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2024Article
- Article
- Assessing cocaine motivational value: Comparison of brain reactivity bias toward cocaine cues and cocaine demand.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2023Article
- Pharmacological Treatments for Cocaine Craving: What Is the Way Forward? A Systematic Review.Brain sciences · 2022Review
- Cannabidiol and substance use disorder: Dream or reality.Neuropharmacology · 2022Review
- Targeting white matter neuroprotection as a relapse prevention strategy for treatment of cocaine use disorder: Design of a mechanism-focused randomized clinical trial.Contemporary clinical trials · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsPioglitazone (PIO), a potent agonist of PPAR-gamma, is a promising candidate treatment for cocaine use disorder (CUD). We tested the effects of PIO on targeted mechanisms relevant to CUD: cocaine craving and brain white matter (WM) integrity. Feasibility, medication compliance and tolerability were evaluated.
designTwo-arm double-blind randomized controlled proof-of-concept pilot trial of PIO or placebo (PLC).
settingSingle-site out-patient treatment research clinic in Houston, TX, USA.
participantsThirty treatment-seeking adults, 18 to 60 years old, with CUD. Eighteen participants (8 = PIO; 10 = PLC) completed diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of WM integrity at pre-/post-treatment.
interventionStudy medication was dispensed at thrice weekly visits along with once-weekly cognitive behavioral therapy for 12 weeks. MEASUREMENTS: Measures of target engagement mechanisms of interest included cocaine craving assessed by the Brief Substance Craving Scale (BSCS), the Obsessive Compulsive Drug Use Scale (OCDUS), a visual analog scale (VAS) and change in WM integrity. Feasibility measures included number completing treatment, medication compliance (riboflavin detection) and tolerability (side effects, serious adverse events).
findingsTarget engagement change in mechanisms of interest, defined as a ≥ 0.75 Bayesian posterior probability of an interaction existing favoring PIO over PLC, was demonstrated on measures of craving (BSCS, VAS) and WM integrity indexed by fractional anisotropy (FA) values. Outcomes indicated greater decrease in craving and greater increase in FA values in the PIO group. Feasibility was demonstrated by high completion rates among those starting treatment (21/26 = 80%) and medication compliance (≥ 80%). There were no reported serious adverse events for PIO.
conclusionsCompared with placebo, patients receiving pioglitazone show a higher likelihood of reduced cocaine craving and improved brain white matter integrity as a function of time in treatment. Pioglitazone shows good feasibility as a treatment for cocaine use disorder.
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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.