Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas are part of a clinical trial to determine if two over-the-counter (OTC) medications can diminish alcohol abuse in patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
The study will gauge the effectiveness of citicoline and pregnenolone, over-the-counter medications used for improved brain function and mood control, as a treatment for alcohol abuse in people who also suffer from bipolar disorder.
"We had a pilot study where we showed it decreased cocaine use in people with bipolar disorders. Now we are extending those findings to see if it will decrease the use of another substance, in this case alcohol," said Dr. Sherwood Brown, M.D., Ph.D., at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
Kenneth Goodson, of Dallas, is one of the handful of participants in the study.
He said he's dealt with bipolar disorder and alcoholism for most his life.
"I started [with] a lot of alcohol, a lot of drugs, and my life just went to shambles," said Goodson.
As part of the double-blind study, he takes four pills a day and is examined by researchers once a week.
Right now, the trial is focused on bipolar patients.
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"About half the people with bipolar disorder will have an alcohol use problem within their lifetime," said Brown.
If the trial is successful, larger studies will be launched to evaluate their viability in people with alcohol-use disorders who do not suffer from mental health problems.
The $2.5 million, five-year trial is currently in year two and funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) of the NIH.
