Heidar Sharafi, a postdoctoral trainee in our laboratory, recently published an article in the prestigious Addiction scientific journal in collaboration with Hamzah Bakouni, Christina Mcanulty, Sarah Drouin, Stephanie Coronado-Montoya and Arash Bahremand.
This systematic review and meta-analysis focused on the use of prescription psychostimulants as a replacement therapy for amphetamine-type stimulant use disorder. By synthesizing the results of ten randomized controlled trials, this study concluded that prescription psychostimulants can significantly reduce craving in people with amphetamine-type stimulant use disorder. However, our results have shown that this type of treatment does not seem effective in reducing stimulant use, withdrawal symptoms as well as depressive symptoms. We were also able to identify that higher doses of prescription psychostimulants generally lead to a greater reduction in craving and stimulant use. The only treatments available for stimulant use disorders are psychotherapeutic and psychosocial interventions, which are insufficient in a large majority of cases. Our study results therefore highlight the importance of continuing research efforts in this area in order to find pharmacological treatments that would be effective for people with stimulant use disorder.
In the laboratory of Didier Jutras-Aswad, we continue to contribute to the scientific knowledge with new meta-analyses, which will soon be published, relating to the effectiveness of naltrexone, bupropion and modafinil as pharmacotherapies for amphetamine-type stimulant use disorder. A pan-Canadian clinical trial of dexamfetamine with/without contingency management for the treatment of methamphetamine use disorder will also be running shortly.. For more information, visit the Available Studies section of our website.
Click here to access Heidar’s article.
Click here to access the press release.