Abstract
Baclofen has been shown to reduce alcohol consumption in some individuals with alcohol use disorder. This preliminary study aimed to evaluate i) the effect of baclofen versus placebo on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical activity (HPA-axis), as measured by cortisol, and ii) the relationship between clinical outcomes such as alcohol consumption on a randomised controlled trial of baclofen (BAC) versus placebo (PL) (Kirsten C. Morley et al., 2018; K. C. Morley, Leung, Baillie, & Haber, 2013). We hypothesised that baclofen will reduce HPA axis activity following a mild stressor in patients with alcohol dependence. Plasma cortisol levels were taken from N = 25 alcohol dependent patients at two time points, approximately 60 (pre MRI scan: PreCortisol) and 180 minutes (post MRI scan: PostCortisol) following administration of PL, BAC 10 mg or BAC 25 mg. Participants were followed-up for the remaining 10 weeks as part of the trial for clinical outcome (percentage days abstinent). Mixed models revealed a significant main effect of medication on cortisol levels (F = 3.88, p = 0.037), no significant effect of time (F = 0.04, p = 0.84) and a significant time x medication (F = 3.54, p = 0.049). Linear regression (F = 6.98, p = 0.01, R2=0.66) revealed that abstinence at follow-up, weighted by gender, was predicted by blunted cortisol response (ß= -0.48 p = 0.023), in addition to medication (ß= 0.73 p = 0.003). In conclusion, our preliminary data suggest that baclofen moderates HPA axis activity, as measured by blood cortisol, and that these alterations may play a role in long term treatment response.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call