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Published on: January 22, 2016
Open trial of injectable risperidone for methamphetamine dependence
Charles W Meredith1, Craig Jaffe, Monique Cherrier
1From the Mental Health Service (CWM, JPR, CAM, EVY, AK, LCF, AMT, and AJS), Center of Excellence in Substance Abuse Treatment and Education (CAM, LCF, and AJS), VA Puget Sound Health Care System; and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (CWM, CJ, MC, LCF, AMT, and AJS), University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
Long-acting injectable risperidone significantly reduced methamphetamine use in an open trial. This treatment also showed potential benefits for verbal memory, warranting further investigation in controlled studies.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Pharmacology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Methamphetamine (MA) dependence is a significant public health issue with limited pharmacotherapies.
- Long-acting injectable formulations offer potential advantages for medication adherence in substance use disorders.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the acceptability and tolerability of long-acting injectable risperidone for methamphetamine dependence.
- To evaluate the efficacy of injectable risperidone in reducing MA use and its impact on neurocognitive function and psychiatric symptoms.
Main Methods:
- An open-label trial involving 34 participants with MA dependence.
- Participants received oral risperidone followed by 4 intramuscular injections of long-acting risperidone (25 mg) every 2 weeks.
- Relapse prevention counseling was offered weekly.
Main Results:
- Significant reduction in weekly methamphetamine use from a baseline average of 4.1 days to 1.0 day per week by week 8 (P < 0.001).
- Verbal memory showed improvement at week 4 compared to baseline (P < 0.05).
- No serious adverse events were reported; plasma levels were higher in abstinent participants.
Conclusions:
- Injectable risperidone demonstrated potential in reducing methamphetamine use and improving verbal memory in this open trial.
- The findings are limited by the open-label design and high dropout rate.
- Further controlled trials are warranted to confirm risperidone's efficacy as a pharmacotherapy for MA dependence.
