Spironolactone in Alcohol Use Disorder (SAUD)

NCT05807139 | Recruiting Phase 1 FDA Drug

• 2 other identifiers: 10001546001546-DA
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 20
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Background: Alcohol use disorder (AUD) affects about 29.5 million people in the United States. Only 3 medicines have been approved by Food and Drug Administration to treat AUD. Researchers want to find better treatments for AUD. Animal studies found that a medicine called spironolactone, may decrease the amount of alcohol the animals drank. Spironolactone is approved to treat high blood pressure, or heart failure in people. It is not approved to treat AUD. Objective: To test a medicine (spironolactone) in people who sometimes drink excessive alcohol in order to understand how the body breaks down spironolactone and if there are any side effects in people who drink alcohol while taking this medicine. Eligibility: People aged 21 and older with AUD. Design: Participants will have 4 separate 7-day stays at a clinic in Baltimore over 2 months. Spironolactone is a capsule you swallow. Participants will take a capsule twice a day for 5 days during each clinic stay. During 1 of their 4 stays, they will take a placebo instead of the medicine. The placebo capsule looks just like the spironolactone capsule but contains no medicine. Participants will not know when they are taking the medicine or the placebo. Participants will not drink alcohol until day 6 of each clinic stay. Then they will be asked to drink alcohol in a bar-like area in the clinic. Their breath and blood alcohol levels and their well-being will be measured. Participants will undergo other tests in the clinic: A DEXA (dual energy X-ray absorptiometry) scan uses X-rays to measure bone density and muscle mass. Participants will lie on an open-top, padded table, then a small arm will scan the full length of their body. The radiation participants will get in this study is about the same as from one regular x-ray. Blood tests. Participants may feel some discomfort at the site of needle entry. Electrocardiogram. This test records the heart activity. Sensors are attached to the skin with stickers and removed after a few minutes. Urine tests. All urine will be collected over a 3-day period during each stay. We will measure the amount of urine, and different hormones and salts in the urine. Questionnaires and tasks. Participants will answer questions about their alcohol use. They will perform tasks to test mood, craving, mental and physical coordination, and how much they feel an effect from alcohol after drinking.

Conditions

Alcohol Use Disorder

Keywords

Alcohol Consumption; Alcohol Problems; Alcohol Use Disorder; SPIRONOLACTONE; Mineralocorticoid Receptor

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Describe steady-state PK of spironolactone in individuals with AUD, before and after oral alcohol administration.

  PK characteristics of spironolactone (e.g., total concentration, peak concentration, elimination half-life) before (day 5) and after (day 6) oral alcohol administration.

  Before and after oral alcohol administration.

• Describe alcohol PK during concomitant spironolactone use

  PK characteristics of alcohol (e.g., blood alcohol concentrations, time for elimination) during concomitant spironolactone treatment (0, 100, 200, and 400 mg/day)

  12 hours after oral alcohol administration

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Determine whether spironolactone alters subjective and cognitive effects of acute alcohol administration

  12 hours after oral alcohol administration

• Determine safety, tolerability, and potential drug-alcohol interaction by administering spironolactone, combined with alcohol, in individuals with AUD

  12 hours after oral alcohol administration

• Describe steady-state PK of spironolactone metabolites in individuals with AUD, before and after alcohol administration

  Before and after oral administration of alcohol.

Study Arms (4)

Placebo 1st visit

EXPERIMENTAL

stage 1: Placebostage 2: 2x50 mg/day spironolactonestage 3: 2x100 mg/day spironolactonestage4: 2x200 mg/day spironolactone

Other: Placebo; Drug: Spironolactone

Placebo 2nd visit

EXPERIMENTAL

stage 1: 2x50 mg/day spironolactonestage 2: Placebostage3: 2x100 mg/day spironolactonestage 4: 2x200 mg/day spironolactone

Other: Placebo; Drug: Spironolactone

Placebo 3rd visit

EXPERIMENTAL

stage1: 2x50 mg/day spironolactonestage 2: 2x100 mg/day spironolactonestage 3: Placebostage4: 2x200 mg/day spironolactone

Other: Placebo; Drug: Spironolactone

Placebo 4th visit

EXPERIMENTAL

Stage1: 2x50 mg/day spironolactoneStage 2: 2x100 mg/day spironolactonestage 3: 2x200 mg/day spironolactonestage 4: Placebo

Other: Placebo; Drug: Spironolactone

Interventions

Placebo OTHER

Placebo

Placebo 1st visit; Placebo 2nd visit; Placebo 3rd visit; Placebo 4th visit

Spironolactone DRUG

Spironolactone and its matched placebo will be encapsulated into hard gelatin capsules, in same color, size and taste, to allow blinding. Participants will receive 2x50 mg/day, 2x100 mg, and 2x200 mg/day in three sessions (Stages); these Visits always occur in ascending order of dosage. In the remaining session, participants receive the placebo. Spironolactone is approved by the FDA, commercially available, and used in clinical practice for the treatment of hypertension, NYHA Class III-IV heart failure, edema in cirrhotic patients, and primary hyperaldosteronism. Comprehensive information about spironolactone, including its pharmacological properties, are provided in the Prescribing Information.

Placebo 1st visit; Placebo 2nd visit; Placebo 3rd visit; Placebo 4th visit

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 21 Years - 99 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• In order to be eligible to enroll in this study, an individual must meet all of the following criteria:
• At least 21 years old
• Alcohol Use Disorder (minimum 2 symptoms on a validated diagnostic tool, e.g., the Mini- International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) or the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders (SCID))
• At least four days with \>= 4 drinks for females or \>= 5 drinks for males during the 28-day period prior to screening, according to alcohol TimeLine Follow Back (TLFB)
• Most recent Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol - revised (CIWA-Ar) score is \< 10
• Able to speak, read, write, and understand English as demonstrated by their ability to understand and sign the consent for the NIDA screening protocol.
• Female participants must be postmenopausal for at least one year, surgically sterile, or practicing a highly effective method of birth control before entry and throughout the study and must have negative pregnancy tests at each stage. Examples of highly effective methods of birth control include abstinence, hormonal contraceptives (e.g., certain birth control pills, contraceptive patch, vaginal ring, or implants), intrauterine device (IUD), tubal ligation, or vasectomy.

You may not qualify if:

• An individual who meets any of the following criteria will be excluded from participation in this study:
• Most recent blood tests: potassium \> 5.2 mmol/L; creatinine \>= 2 mg/dL; eGFR \< 60 mL/min/1.73 m\^2, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) \> 6.5 %
• Clinically significant and/or symptomatic hyponatremia, hypomagnesemia, hypocalcemia, and hyperuricemia based on Medical Advisory Investigators (MAI) or designee judgment.
• Known history of clinically significant orthostatic hypotension
• Known history of hypoaldosteronism, hyperaldosteronism, Addison s disease
• Diagnosis of NYHA class III-IV heart failure, or unstable cardiovascular conditions (e.g., arrhythmias, clinically significant ECG abnormalities)
• Current use of any diuretic, angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB), angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI), potassium supplementation, potassium containing salt substitute, heparin and low molecular weight heparin (LMWH), trimethoprim, lithium, digoxin, cholestyramine
• Current use of MR antagonists
• Current use of FDA-approved pharmacotherapy for AUD, or seeking treatment for AUD
• Known history of prior hypersensitivity reaction to spironolactone or other MR antagonists, or any of the product components
• Known history of alcohol withdrawal seizure and delirium tremens.
• Physical and/or mental health conditions that are clinically unstable, as determined by the study clinicians, including (but not limited to) major depressive disorder or generalized anxiety disorder unstable during the past three months or other psychiatric conditions (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder) unstable during the past twelve months prior to screening.
• Pregnancy, intention to become pregnant, or breastfeeding.
• Any other reason or clinical condition that the Investigators judge would interfere with study participation and/or be unsafe for a participant.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA): lead

Study Sites (1)

National Institute on Drug Abuse

Baltimore, Maryland, 21224, United States

RECRUITING

Related Publications (5)

• Leko AH, McGinn MA, Farokhnia M. The Mineralocorticoid Receptor: An Emerging Pharmacotherapeutic Target for Alcohol Use Disorder? ACS Chem Neurosci. 2022 Jul 6;13(13):1832-1834. doi: 10.1021/acschemneuro.2c00326. Epub 2022 Jun 24.

  PMID: 35748762 BACKGROUND

• Farokhnia M, Rentsch CT, Chuong V, McGinn MA, Elvig SK, Douglass EA, Gonzalez LA, Sanfilippo JE, Marchette RCN, Tunstall BJ, Fiellin DA, Koob GF, Justice AC, Leggio L, Vendruscolo LF. Spironolactone as a potential new pharmacotherapy for alcohol use disorder: convergent evidence from rodent and human studies. Mol Psychiatry. 2022 Nov;27(11):4642-4652. doi: 10.1038/s41380-022-01736-y. Epub 2022 Sep 20.

  PMID: 36123420 BACKGROUND

• Palzes VA, Farokhnia M, Kline-Simon AH, Elson J, Sterling S, Leggio L, Weisner C, Chi FW. Effectiveness of spironolactone dispensation in reducing weekly alcohol use: a retrospective high-dimensional propensity score-matched cohort study. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2021 Nov;46(12):2140-2147. doi: 10.1038/s41386-021-01117-z. Epub 2021 Aug 2.

  PMID: 34341493 BACKGROUND

• Aoun EG, Jimenez VA, Vendruscolo LF, Walter NAR, Barbier E, Ferrulli A, Haass-Koffler CL, Darakjian P, Lee MR, Addolorato G, Heilig M, Hitzemann R, Koob GF, Grant KA, Leggio L. A relationship between the aldosterone-mineralocorticoid receptor pathway and alcohol drinking: preliminary translational findings across rats, monkeys and humans. Mol Psychiatry. 2018 Jun;23(6):1466-1473. doi: 10.1038/mp.2017.97. Epub 2017 May 2.

  PMID: 28461696 BACKGROUND

• Leggio L, Ferrulli A, Cardone S, Miceli A, Kenna GA, Gasbarrini G, Swift RM, Addolorato G. Renin and aldosterone but not the natriuretic peptide correlate with obsessive craving in medium-term abstinent alcohol-dependent patients: a longitudinal study. Alcohol. 2008 Aug;42(5):375-81. doi: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2008.03.128. Epub 2008 May 16.

  PMID: 18486430 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Alcoholism; Alcohol Drinking; Alcohol-Related Disorders

Interventions

Spironolactone

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Substance-Related Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Mental Disorders; Drinking Behavior; Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Lactones; Organic Chemicals; Pregnenes; Pregnanes; Steroids; Fused-Ring Compounds; Polycyclic Compounds

Study Officials

• Lorenzo Leggio, M.D.

  National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Masoumeh Dejman

CONTACT

(240) 987-8983; masoumeh.dejman@nih.gov

Lorenzo Leggio, M.D.

CONTACT

(240) 478-1503; lorenzo.leggio@nih.gov

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: phase 1
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: TRIPLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, CARE PROVIDER, INVESTIGATOR
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: NIH
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 10, 2023
• First Posted: April 11, 2023
• Study Start: July 13, 2023
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): April 30, 2027
• Last Updated: April 30, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04-28

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, ICF
• Time Frame: 12 months after publication
• Access Criteria: To be determined

Locations

US (1)