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WithdrawnNCT02046551Updated May 22, 2017

Atomoxetine's Effects On Nicotine Response And Stress Response In Smokers

A Phase 1/2 interventional study of Atomoxetine and Placebo in Nicotine Dependence, sponsored by Yale University. Withdrawn at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 55 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2017-05-22.

Sponsored by Yale University · Phase 1/2, Interventional, and Treatment

Why this study was withdrawn
funding lost
Phase
Phase 1/2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
0
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 55 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The purpose of this study is to evaluate atomoxetine's effects on the rewarding and reinforcing effects of nicotine in a controlled human laboratory study with 24 otherwise healthy nicotine dependent subjects. It is hypothesized that atomoxetine will attenuate the negative effects of nicotine.

02

Conditions studied

  • Nicotine Dependence

Keywords

  • nicotine
  • smoking
  • atomoxetine
  • stress
03

In context

Tobacco Use Disorder

988 studies on the registry are indexed under Tobacco Use Disorder; 125 are open to participants now.

Browse Tobacco Use Disorder studies →

Lead sponsor

Yale University is the lead sponsor of 1,763 studies on the registry; 292 are open to participants now.

Of its 217 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 128 (59%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 55 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • female and male smokers, not treatment seeking, aged 18 to 55 years;
  • history of smoking daily for the past 12 months, at least 5 cigarettes daily;
  • CO level > 10ppm;
  • for women: not pregnant as determined by pregnancy screening, nor breast feeding, and using acceptable birth control methods.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • history of major medical illnesses including asthma or chronic obstructive lung disease, history or current gastrointestinal ulcer, hepatic or renal impairment, coronary artery disease, cardiac rhythm disturbances or other medical conditions that the study physician deems contraindicated for the subject to be in the study;
  • regular use of psychotropic medication (antidepressants, antipsychotics, or anxiolytics)
  • recent psychiatric diagnosis and treatment for Axis I disorders including major depression, bipolar affective disorder, schizophrenia and panic disorder within the past year. We will make an exception for the following Axis I diagnoses: nicotine dependence and alcohol or other drug dependence (i.e., cocaine, opioid) as long as they are not meeting abuse or dependence criteria within the past 3 months for alcohol or drug use;
  • use of drugs that slow heart rate (eg, beta-blockers), which may increase the risk of bradycardia and AV block, or NSAIDs, which may increase potential for developing ulcers/active or occult gastrointestinal bleeding;
  • known allergy to atomoxetine
05

Study design

Phase
Phase 1 / Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Crossover assignment
Masking
Triple (Participant, Care provider, Investigator)
Enrollment
0 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Placebo comparator
    Placebo

    placebo

    Drug: Placebo

  • Experimental
    Atomoxetine

    atomoxetine (40 mg/day)

    Drug: Atomoxetine

Interventions

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Nicotine Effects Questionnaire

    Subjects will rate 6 items that are related to nicotine effect on a 100 mm scale, "not at all" to "extremely." The items are feeling the drug strength, feel "good" drug effects, feel "bad" drug effects, feel jittery, feel stimulated, and head rush. This instrument is an abbreviated version of a visual analog scale (VAS) and allows rapid detection of nicotine effects.

    Time frame: Day 5

  2. Nicotine Effects Questionnaire

    Subjects will rate 6 items that are related to nicotine effect on a 100 mm scale, "not at all" to "extremely." The items are feeling the drug strength, feel "good" drug effects, feel "bad" drug effects, feel jittery, feel stimulated, and head rush. This instrument is an abbreviated version of a visual analog scale (VAS) and allows rapid detection of nicotine effects.

    Time frame: Day 17

Secondary outcomes

  1. Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale

    The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale is a 20-item self-report measure of depressive symptoms. The range of scores is from 0 to 60, with higher scores reflecting increased depressive symptoms 41. The CES-D does not heavily depend on pathological items compared with other scales such as the Beck Depression Inventory and does not define clinical depression.

    Time frame: Day 5

  2. Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS )

    Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS ) is a 20-item scale that assesses both negative and positive affective states. Subjects rate adjectives describing affective states on a scale of 1 to 5 using a specified time period (e.g., now, today, past week etc.). Scores are then added up to generate negative and positive scale scores.

    Time frame: Day 5

  3. The Profile of Mood States (POMS)

    The Profile of Mood States (POMS) is a 72-item questionnaire which consists of adjectives commonly used to describe momentary mood states. It has been found to be sensitive to the mood-altering effects of drugs including nicotine. POMS has a 5-point objective rating scale (0=not at all to 5=extremely). There are eight mood states that this scale measures: (1) Anger, (2) Anxiety, (3) Confusion, (4) Depression, (5) Elation, (6) Fatigue, (7) Friendliness and (8) Vigor. POMS will be used during each session to measure effects of atomoxetine or nicotine on mood.

    Time frame: Day 5

  4. Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale

    The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale is a 20-item self-report measure of depressive symptoms. The range of scores is from 0 to 60, with higher scores reflecting increased depressive symptoms 41. The CES-D does not heavily depend on pathological items compared with other scales such as the Beck Depression Inventory and does not define clinical depression.

    Time frame: Day 17

  5. Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS )

    Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS ) is a 20-item scale that assesses both negative and positive affective states 44. Subjects rate adjectives describing affective states on a scale of 1 to 5 using a specified time period (e.g., now, today, past week etc.). Scores are then added up to generate negative and positive scale scores.

    Time frame: Day 17

  6. The Profile of Mood States (POMS)

    The Profile of Mood States (POMS) is a 72-item questionnaire which consists of adjectives commonly used to describe momentary mood states. It has been found to be sensitive to the mood-altering effects of drugs including nicotine. POMS has a 5-point objective rating scale (0=not at all to 5=extremely). There are eight mood states that this scale measures: (1) Anger, (2) Anxiety, (3) Confusion, (4) Depression, (5) Elation, (6) Fatigue, (7) Friendliness and (8) Vigor. POMS will be used during each session to measure effects of atomoxetine or nicotine on mood.

    Time frame: Day 17

  7. Symptom Checklist Form (SCF)

    In order to monitor adverse events from the study medications, SCF will be administered before and after each session. SCF is a locally developed symptom checklist that includes possible side effects of study medications with each symptom being scored 1-5.

    Time frame: Day 5

  8. Symptom Checklist Form (SCF)

    In order to monitor adverse events from the study medications, SCF will be administered before and after each session. SCF is a locally developed symptom checklist that includes possible side effects of study medications with each symptom being scored 1-5.

    Time frame: Day 17

  9. Nicotine Withdrawal Symptom Checklist (NWSC)

    Smokers will be asked to rate several nicotine withdrawal symptoms on a likert scale visual analogue. There are 12 items responses range from 0, "not at all" to 3 "extremely".

    Time frame: Day 5

  10. Nicotine Withdrawal Symptom Checklist (NWSC)

    Smokers will be asked to rate several nicotine withdrawal symptoms on a likert scale visual analogue. There are 12 items responses range from 0, "not at all" to 3 "extremely".

    Time frame: Day 17

07

Study locations

1 site
  • West Haven Veterans Affairs
    West Haven, Connecticut 06515, United States
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 22, 2017, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT02046551
Lead sponsor
Yale University
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jan 27, 2014
Start date
Apr 2014
Primary completion
Feb 2017 (estimated)
Completion
Feb 2017 (estimated)
Last update
May 22, 2017

Study contacts

Albert Arias, MD
principal investigator · Yale University

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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