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Published on: January 22, 2016
Pilot randomized trial of bupropion for adolescent methamphetamine abuse/dependence
Keith G Heinzerling1, Janette Gadzhyan, Henry van Oudheusden
1UCLA Center for Behavioral and Addiction Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. KHeinzerling@mednet.ucla.edu
Purpose:
To perform a pilot clinical trial of bupropion for methamphetamine abuse/dependence among adolescents.
Methods:
Nineteen adolescents with methamphetamine abuse (n = 2) or dependence (n = 17) were randomly assigned to bupropion SR 150 mg twice daily or placebo for 8 weeks with outpatient substance abuse counseling.
Results:
Bupropion was well-tolerated except for one female in the bupropion group who was hospitalized for suicidal ideation during a methamphetamine relapse. Adolescents receiving bupropion and females provided significantly fewer methamphetamine-free urine tests compared to participants receiving placebo (p = .043) and males (p = .005) respectively.
Conclusions:
Results do not support the feasibility of additional trials of bupropion for adolescent methamphetamine abuse/dependence. Future studies should investigate the influence of gender on adolescent methamphetamine abuse and treatment outcomes.
