Modafinil for Treatment of amphetamine/ Methamphetamine Dependence: The Randomized Double - Blined ClinicaL Trial

Using methamphetamine and its dependence is a serious public health problem worldwide. In Iran about 50% of hospital beds are occupied due to psychosis or mental disorder complications related to methamphetamine dependence, which seriously affects patients’ admission to psychiatric hospitals.
The current study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of modafinil for treating patients with amphetamine dependence.
Patients and In the current clinical trial study, 50 male patients with amphetamine and methamphetamine dependence, who had referred to addiction treatment clinic of Baharan psychiatry hospital in Zahedan, Eastern Iran, were studied. The participants were followed for 12 weeks. The random sampling method was used and patients were divided to two groups of modafinil receivers and placebo, based on blocks permutation. To evaluate the consumption of amphetamine/methamphetamine, urinary screening for methamphetamine was conducted in the beginning of the study and every week during the study period. The drug craving and level of dependence were measured by Visual Analogue Scale of Craving (VAS) and Addiction Severity Index (ASI), respectively. At the end of the follow-up period, data were analyzed using t-test and Chi-square test by SPSS ver. 18.
The mean age of the subjects was 29.5 ± 6.4 years. The results of urinary screening for methamphetamine were positive for 52.8% and 55.1% of the subjects in the modafinil receivers and placebo groups, respectively. The mean scores of drug craving were 76.2 ± 9.0 and 81.0 ± 8.2 for the modafinil receivers and placebo groups, respectively (P = 0.064). The mean of reduction in dependence level scores were 5.6 ± 2.7 and 2.0 ± 1.1 for the modafinil receivers and placebo groups, respectively (P = 0.001).
The results of the current study showed that modafinil was well-tolerated but not effective in reducing the level of consumption (number of negative urinary tests for amphetamine-methamphetamine). Modafinil was effective in reduction of severity addiction to amphetamine-methamphetamine.