Trial reportPsychopharmacology2017
Effects of varenicline on alcohol cue reactivity in heavy drinkers.
Trial report in Psychopharmacology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 2 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
16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Leveraging meta-regression to test if medication effects on cue-induced craving are associated with clinical efficacy.Psychopharmacology · 2024Pooled it
- Efficacy of Varenicline in the Treatment of Alcohol Dependence: An Updated Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Pooled it
- Efficacy of smartphone applications for smoking cessation in heavy-drinking adults: Secondary analysis of the iCanQuit randomized trial.Addictive behaviors · 2022Trial
- Trial
- Effects of Alcohol Cue Reactivity on Subsequent Treatment Outcomes Among Treatment-Seeking Individuals with Alcohol Use Disorder: A Multisite Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial of Varenicline.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2020Trial
- Pharmacotherapy for Alcohol Craving Reduction: Efficacy of Short-Term Treatments in Alcohol Use Disorder.Medicines (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Reductions in WHO risk drinking levels correlate with alcohol craving among individuals with alcohol use disorder.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2024Article
- Testing pharmacotherapies for alcohol use disorder with cue exposure paradigms: A systematic review and quantitative synthesis of human laboratory trial methodology.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2023Review
- Antismoking agents do not contribute synergistically to semaglutide's ability to reduce alcohol intake in rats.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2023Article
- Off-label and investigational drugs in the treatment of alcohol use disorder: A critical review.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Review
- Combined varenicline and naltrexone attenuates alcohol cue-elicited activation in heavy drinking smokers.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2021Article
- The role of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in alcohol-related behaviors.Brain research bulletin · 2020Review
- Searching for Personalized Medicine for Binge Drinking Smokers: Smoking Cessation Using Varenicline, Nicotine Patch, or Combination Nicotine Replacement Therapy.Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs · 2020Article
- Mobile alcohol biosensors and pharmacotherapy development research.Alcohol (Fayetteville, N.Y.) · 2019Review
- Prospects for pharmacotherapies to treat alcohol use disorder: an update on recent human studies.Current opinion in psychiatry · 2019Review
- The Neurobiological Mechanism of Chemical Aversion (Emetic) Therapy for Alcohol Use Disorder: An fMRI Study.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
rationaleClinical trials and human laboratory studies have established that varenicline can reduce rates of alcohol use among heavy drinkers. Less is known about the mechanisms by which varenicline has this effect on drinking behavior. Reactivity to alcohol cues is often cited as the primary cause of relapse among those being treated for alcohol use disorder, and several front-line treatments for alcohol use disorder work, at least in part, by minimizing cue-induced alcohol craving.
objectiveThe current double-blind, placebo-controlled human laboratory study tested the effects of varenicline on alcohol cue reactivity in a group of heavy-drinking adult smokers and nonsmokers.
methodsAs part of a larger series of sequential human laboratory experiments testing the effects of varenicline on drinking outcomes, participants were assigned (between-participant) to receive either active varenicline (2 mg/day) or placebo. Following a titration period, participants (n = 77) attended a laboratory session during which they were exposed to alcohol and neutral cues using a standard cue reactivity paradigm.
resultsAlcohol cue exposure increased craving for alcohol in both medication groups. However, participants receiving varenicline showed a smaller increase in alcohol craving compared to participants receiving placebo. The medication effect did not differ between smokers and nonsmokers. Among smokers, alcohol cue exposure also increased tobacco craving. Varenicline did not attenuate this effect.
conclusionsResults support the use of varenicline for reducing alcohol use in heavy drinkers and identify a potential mechanism by which varenicline reduces drinking. Varenicline continues to show promise as a pharmacological treatment for alcohol use disorder.
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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.