Clinical Research Directory

An Innovative Intervention for OUD Treatment

The Bridge Device (BD) is a neuromodulator medical device that has been cleared by the FDA for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) treatment. Importantly, medical devices reviewed by the FDA are cleared (based on safety) rather than approved (based on efficacy), which means the BD did not need to demonstrate efficacy before it became commercially available. As a result, the device was not required to have a sham-controlled trial for FDA clearance and there is no active research, to the investigators' knowledge, that specifically addresses the degree to which opioid withdrawal can be treated through neuromodulation. To rigorously evaluate the efficacy of the BD for treating OUD, the investigators will enroll persons with active OUD, not currently receiving medications for OUD. Participants will be recruited and admitted to the Clinical Research Unit (CRU) for a 2-3 week period. During participants' residential stay, participants will be stabilized for 7-11 days on four times daily morphine (30 mg, SC) and undergo a precipitated withdrawal challenge using the opioid antagonist naloxone, approximately \>= 4 days of morphine maintenance. This is a standard practice for the investigators' study and allows the investigators to objectively assess dependence. The BD and study medication will begin following morphine stabilization. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three conditions (1) active BD with placebo (BD/P), (2) sham BD with lofexidine (SBD/L), or (3) sham BD and placebo (SBD/P). Participants will use the BD for 5 days and will receive study drug for 7 days. Participants will be monitored for an additional 4 days after device removal to determine whether withdrawal resumes. Participants will undergo a second naloxone challenge after removal of the device/capsule completion to verify lack of opioid tolerance and will be encouraged to begin treatment with oral naltrexone followed by extended release naltrexone. Throughout the residential stay, all participants will be given referral to and assisted with engaging in outpatient treatment following study discharge.

Transitions Clinic Network: Post Incarceration Addiction Treatment, Healthcare, and Social Support

TCN PATHS will recruit an anticipated 400 participants who are prescribed MOUD who are released from detention facilities. Each individual will be randomized to either 1) standard primary care (SPC) or 2) a Transitions Clinic Network (TCN) program primary care. Participants will be followed for a year and complete surveys at baseline and at month 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12. At each of these points research staff will confirm MOUD status. Urine drug screenings will be completed at baseline, month 1, 6, and 12 if the participant is not incarcerated. When possible, research staff will collect electronic health records.

Integrating Support Persons Into Recovery

INtegrated Support Persons Into Recovery (INSPIRE) is a 4-year research project that tests whether integrating a patient's support person into a patient's treatment with Buprenorphine/Naloxone can improve outcomes. The study will examine whether a counseling program called CRAFT for a support person, such as a family member, spouse or friend, can improve patient outcomes.

MEDiterranean Diet-driven Detoxification of OPioid Addicted patiEnts (MED-DOPE)

The MED-DOPE (MEDiterranean diet-driven Detoxification of OPioid addicted patiEnts) study is a randomized controlled trial that aims to investigate the role of a nutritional intervention based on the principles of Mediterranean diet on craving, which is the primary outcome, and blood redox status of opioid-addicted patients under medication-assisted treatment with buprenorphine and methadone. In detail, the patients of the intervention group will consume three meals per day (i.e., breakfast, lunch and dinner) based on the principles of Mediterranean diet for 90 days. The patients of the control group will follow their normal nutritional habits. Craving as the primary outcome, quality of sleep and biochemical parameters such as blood redox status will be evaluated. It is hypothesized that the applied nutritional intervention will reduce craving, probably through the improvement of blood redox status, of the patients of the intervention group compared to the patients of the control group.