Medicine to help cancer patients overcome nausea associated with treatment may also help fight a cocaine habit.
A drug used to curb a cancer patient’s nausea brought on by radiation and chemotherapy treatments could also reduce cocaine addiction, said researchers from the University of Virginia Health System.
Researchers found the drug ondansetron, the generic name for GlaxoSmithKline’s Zofran, can reduce cocaine’s reinforcing effects. The findings come from preliminary results of a study that includes 63 cocaine-dependent men and women.
In the study, whose results were announced Tuesday, participants received ondansetron or a placebo. Cognitive behavioral therapy was also provided each week. Cocaine often creates a euphoric and energetic feeling in people. But the drug’s addictive qualities make it difficult to quit. Those trying to stop often experience high relapse rates.
“These preliminary findings suggest that ondansetron, in combination with behavioral therapy, may offer a new alternative for treating cocaine addiction,” said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Weighing the Alternatives

Despite almost two decades of scientific effort, no medication has been approved by the federal government for the treatment of cocaine dependence. However, efforts are under way to identify and test other medications that could help patients kick the addiction. Among the emerging compounds under investigation is topiramate, the generic name for Ortho-McNeil Neurologics’ topamax. The drug is used to help treat migraine headaches, and seizures in patients with epilepsy. It works by decreasing abnormal excitement in the brain. Until a medication is found to help beat a cocaine habit, users are turning to various forms of behavioral therapy, including residential programs with planned lengths of stay from six to 12 months.

Complex Problem

But cocaine abuse and addiction is a complex problem involving biological changes in the brain as well as a variety of social and environmental factors. Many healthcare workers believe cocaine treatment strategies should address the psychobiological and social aspects of the patient’s drug abuse. To that end, the use of both behavioral therapy and anti-addictions may ultimately prove the most effective.
University of Virginia Health System researchers hope that taking ondansetron while in therapy may one day offer such an option.
About 5.7 million people, or 2.4 percent, of the U.S. population have used cocaine in the past year. And about 2 million, or 0.8 percent of the country’s population, have used cocaine within the past month, according to the 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.