Trial reportJournal of substance abuse treatment2020
Oxytocin-enhanced group therapy for methamphetamine use disorder: Randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in Journal of substance abuse treatment, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evidence-based consensus guidelines for the pharmacological management of substance dependence: Recommendations from the British Association for Psychopharmacology.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2026Guideline
- A positive affect intervention alters leukocyte DNA methylation in sexual minority men with HIV who use methamphetamine.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2024Trial
- The effects of intranasal oxytocin on the efficacy of psychotherapy for major depressive disorder: a pilot randomized controlled trial.Psychological medicine · 2024Trial
- Oxytocin increases physiological linkage during group therapy for methamphetamine use disorder: a randomized clinical trial.Scientific reports · 2021Trial
- Oxytocinergic input from the paraventricular nucleus to the nucleus accumbens core modulates methamphetamine-conditioned place preference.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Pharmacological Treatments for Methamphetamine Use Disorder: Current Status and Future Targets.Substance abuse and rehabilitation · 2024Review
- Oxytocin, a Novel Treatment for Methamphetamine Use Disorder.Neurology international · 2022Review
- Consideration of sex as a biological variable in the translation of pharmacotherapy for stress-associated drug seeking.Neurobiology of stress · 2021Review
- Intranasal Oxytocin for Stimulant Use Disorder Among Male Veterans Enrolled in an Opioid Treatment Program: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Article
- Oxytocin Attenuates Methamphetamine-Induced ApoptosisFrontiers in pharmacology · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMethamphetamine (METH) use is a public health crisis that disproportionately affects men who have sex with men (MSM). There are currently no FDA-approved pharmacological interventions to treat methamphetamine use disorder (MUD). MUD is associated with social impairments and extremely high treatment attrition rates. Administration of oxytocin, a neuropeptide involved in social attachment, may be a novel approach to addressing these issues. Moreover, oxytocin administration has shown promise for reducing METH-related addictive behavior in animal models, but has not yet been investigated in clinical trials for MUD. Last, oxytocin is known to modulate stress responsivity via regulation of the autonomic nervous system, which is dysregulated in METH users. We hypothesize that oxytocin, in combination with group psychotherapy, will increase treatment engagement, reduce addiction behavior, and mitigate stress hyperreactivity.
methodsThis is a randomized, double blind trial of oxytocin 40-IU (n = 24) or placebo (n = 24) administered intranasally prior to each of six weekly motivational interviewing group therapy (MIGT) sessions for MUD in MSM. PRIMARY OUTCOME: (a) session attendance. SECONDARY OUTCOMES: (b) group cohesion, (c) anxiety, (d) METH craving, (e) METH use, and (f) in-session cardiac physiology.
resultsParticipants receiving oxytocin had significantly higher group therapy attendance than those receiving placebo, OR 3.26, 95% CI [1.27-8.41], p = .014. There was a small effect of oxytocin on group cohension, but not anxiety or craving. METH use did not change over the six-week MIGT course in either treatment arm. Participants receiving oxytocin had lower average heart rates during MIGT sessions and higher heart rate variability. There were positive main effects of MIGT over Time regardless of study drug.
conclusionsThis evidence, and the lack of any serious adverse events, suggests that oxytocin may safely increase treatment attendance. One possible mechanism by which it may do so is its modulation of the autonomic nervous system. Further investigation is warranted.
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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.