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Effect of intranasal oxytocin on alcohol withdrawal syndrome: A randomized placebo-controlled double-blind clinical trial
Plain-language guide to PMID 30784955 (2019): double-blind randomized controlled trial study of Oxytocin in 40 patients.
Key Facts
- PMID
- 30784955
- Journal
- Drug and alcohol dependence
- Year
- 2019
- Study type
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Authors
- Melby K et al. (5 authors)
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.01.003
- Registered trial
- NCT02903251
What This Study Did, in Plain Language
What Was Tested
The paper reports a study of Oxytocin, published as a randomized controlled trial.
The aim of the present study was to compare the effect of oxytocin and placebo during a three-day period of alcohol detoxification at an addiction treatment center in Norway.
Who Took Part
The abstract describes 40 patients taking part.
By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were adults and middle-aged adults, both men and women.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with 40 patients fulfilling criteria for ICD-10 diagnosis of alcohol dependence (F10.2), admitted for alcohol detoxification and withdrawal treatment.
The benzodiazepine oxazepam was given as symptom-triggered treatment based on the scores of the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol revised (CIWA-Ar) scale.
How the Study Was Run
The design is described as randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and pilot.
The patients were allocated by chance, so the Oxytocin group and the comparison group should start out alike.
Neither the patients nor the staff measuring them knew who was on Oxytocin, so expectations could not easily colour the readings.
Some patients received a placebo instead of Oxytocin, giving a reference point.
It is described as a pilot, a small early test of whether a larger Oxytocin study would be practical.
What Was Measured
The subject headings attached to it are Alcoholism, Benzodiazepines, Norway, Oxazepam, Oxytocin, Pilot Projects and Substance Withdrawal Syndrome.
The authors tagged it with the keywords Alcohol detoxification and Alcohol withdrawal.
What This Means in Plain Language
The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Oxytocin in 40 patients.
The abstract goes on to report its results in about 6 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.
The publication is from 2019 (Drug and alcohol dependence), a journal based in Ireland.
More context: the Oxytocin compound page.
Our Notes on the Compound
Oxytocin: A peptide hormone with established obstetric medical uses and a less settled role in research on behavior, sexual function and appetite.
Related Pages
Source: PubMed record. This explanation is written by PeptideWhiz from the public record. For research and education only. Not medical advice; no dosing information is given.