New volume on methamphetamine abuse, health effects and treatment

Our research group at the University of Missouri has contributed chapters to a new book on methamphetamine (Methamphetamines: Abuse, Health Effects, and Treatment Options.  Nova Science Publishers).  Our chapters focused on methamphetamine's mechanism of action in the brain, using locomotor activity in rodents to study the drug, and sigma receptors as a possible treatment for methamphetamine abuse.

Reference- Methamphetamines: Abuse, Health Effects, and Treatment Options. J Ornoy & X. He, Eds., Nova Science Publishers, 2012.

Modafinil for the treatment of methamphetamine abuse?

In a recent  article in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence Ann L. Anderson and colleagues evaluated the efficacy of the psychostimulant modafinil as a treatment for methamphetamine abuse. This was a relatively-large study of patients dependent on methamphetamine who received (double-blind design) modafinil (200 or 400 mg) or placebo over twelve weeks.  Despite the animal research that suggests that modafinil could block or replace methamphetamine's "addictive" effects, there was no significant impact of modafinil treatment on methamphetamine use in these patients.  The authors suggest a problem was that the patients did not comply with the modafinil treatment regimen.

Reference - Modafinil for the Treatment of Methamphetamine Dependence, A.L. Anderson, et. al. (2012) Drug & Alcohol Dependence 120: 135.