ClinicalTrials.gg
Active, not recruitingNCT03442413Updated Feb 3, 2026

Nicotinic Hepatic Metabolism on Neuroreceptor Substrates of Nicotine Addiction

A Phase 1 interventional study of 2-[18F]-FA PET/CT and I.V. Nicotine in Smoking, Tobacco, sponsored by University of Pennsylvania. Active, not recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-02-03.

Sponsored by University of Pennsylvania · Phase 1, Interventional, and Other

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Phase
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
13
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years to 65 Years
Sex
All
01

Where this study stands

Counted across the records on this site · 2026-11-14

Among 185 studies in Tobacco Smoking with a site in United States — 23 open to participants now, 29 under way, 2 of them phase 3. Tobacco Smoking · United States.

Enrollment
164th of 177
13 · median 108
Started
2018
with 17 others
Phase 1
8 of 185
2 open now
Primary completion
2026-11
later than 10 of 28 live
Registered
58th of 185
by date

Among the 185 studies in Tobacco Smoking with a site in United States, this one is the 164th largest by enrollment of the 177 interventional ones that give a count, is one of 18 that started in 2018, is one of 8 in phase 1, reaches primary completion later than 10 of the 28 other live ones, and was the 58th registered.

Tobacco Smoking

264 studies on the registry are indexed under Tobacco Smoking; 42 are open to participants now.

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Open to participants now

23 of the 185 studies in Tobacco Smoking with a site in United States are open now. Recruiting first, the newest first:

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All 23 open studies →

A study can be open while its sites in United States have not opened yet or have stopped. Only those recruiting at a site in United States →

Who these studies take

Of the 33 Tobacco Smoking studies recruiting now, 15 (45%) set no upper age limit and 16 (48%) stop at 75 or younger; 2 take children under 18; 16 take healthy volunteers.

This study: 18 Years to 65 Years · all sexes · healthy volunteers too.

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02

Study summary

Physically healthy adult smokers may be eligible for this study. Volunteers may participate in this study if they are 18 - 65 years old.

Subjects will participate in two separate 7-hour PET/CT Scan Sessions (each with 2 hours of actual PET/CT scanning): one following an overnight abstinence and one following two overnights of abstinence. To achieve and confirm two overnights of abstinence, participants will present to the inpatient CHPS the day prior to the scheduled scan and stay overnight.

The 2-[18F]-FA PET/CT brain scans will consist of an injection followed by an 7-hour infusion of 2-[18F]-FA. The scan session will begin at approximately 4 hours after the bolus injection. The PET/CT scan will occur in two segments. Starting at approximately 4 hours post bolus and infusion start, we will scan for approximately 90 minutes with a bolus injection of IV nicotine that will occur approximately 15 minutes into the scanning procedure. There will be a break in scanning of approximately 60 minutes, during which subjects will be allowed to get off the scanner and use the restroom, if necessary. The second scan segment will start at approximately 6.5 hours post bolus injection, t. This segment will last approximately 30 minutes. The pre and post nicotine images will be analyzed to evaluate for differences in receptor uptake after the nicotine "challenge".

Subjects will have a structural Brain MRI performed within 1 year prior to study enrollment or subjects who have not had a Brain MRI that is deemed acceptable for use for this study will undergo a research Brain MRI after consent.

03

Conditions studied

  • Smoking, Tobacco

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04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 65 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

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

  1. Participants will be 18-65 years of age
  2. Self-reported cigarette smoking history of at least 10 cigarettes/day for at least 6 months prior to enrollment
  3. Carbon monoxide reading > 10 ppm at the initial screening session
  4. Participants agree to be compliant with all study procedures including smoking abstinence and willingness to complete over-night stays at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
  5. Participants must be informed of the nature of this study and provide written in accordance with institutional and federal guidelines prior to study-specific procedures.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Women who are pregnant at the time of screening will not be eligible for this study. A urine pregnancy test will be performed in women of at screening.
  2. Self-reported regular (daily) use of chewing tobacco, snuff or snus
  3. Current enrollment in a smoking cessation or research program involving the use of nicotine substitutes
  4. History within one year or currently receiving treatment for substance abuse other than nicotine (e,g,, alcohol, opioids, cocaine, marijuana, or stimulants)
  5. Current use of cocaine, methamphetamines or other psychoactive substances per self-report and/or positive urine drug screen at the initial screening session
  6. Self-reported current alcohol consumption that exceeds greater than 25 drinks per week in men and 18 drinks per week in women
  7. BrAC reading greater than or equal to 0.01% at the initial screening session
  8. History of kidney and/or liver disease per medical record review or self-reported
  9. Uncontrolled hypertension (defined as Systolic BP > 160 and/or Diastolic BP > 100 at the screening intake session)
  10. History of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or other psychotic disorder or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as assessed by medical record review and/or self-report. History of unipolar depression or anxiety disorder may be accepted; current depression or anxiety may be accepted if the severity does not require psychoactive medication as assessed by medical record review and/or self-report.
  11. History of head trauma, that in the opinion of an investigator may interfere with the uptake of [18F]2-FA, as assessed by medical record review and/or self-report
  12. Current use or recent discontinuation (within the last 14 days) of any of the following:

    1. Smoking cessation medication (e.g. Zyban, Wellbutrin, Wellbutrin SR, Chantix).
    2. Anti-psychotic medications.
    3. Certain medications used to treat depression, including SSRIs, Wellbutrin, MAOIs, and tricyclic antidepressants.
    4. Prescription stimulants (e.g. Provigil, Ritalin, Adderall).
  13. Current use of any of the following:

    1. Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT).
    2. Tagamet (cimetidine).
    3. Heart medications such as digoxin, quinidine, nitroglycerin. Use of these medications may result in ineligibility and will therefore be evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the Study Physician.
    4. Anti-coagulants (e.g. Coumadin, Warfarin).
    5. Any drug the investigator determines could interfere with scan results.
  14. Daily use of any of the following:

    1. Opiate-containing medications for chronic pain; If a participant reports taking an opiate-containing medication every day for the 14 days prior to the telephone screen and/or the Intake Session, the participant will be ineligible.
    2. Rescue Inhalers (e.g. Albuterol, Proventil, Ventolin, or Maxair).
  15. Any to brain MRI
  16. Any current medical condition, psychiatric disorder, illness, or disorder as assessed by medical record review and/or self-reported that is considered by a physician investigator to be a condition that could compromise participant safety or successful participation in the study
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(4)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Investigational drug or device

A drug or device being studied in a clinical trial.

It may be new, or already approved and being studied for another use, dose or form. Criteria often leave out people who took part in another study of one within a recent period, commonly 30 days or five half-lives.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

Childbearing potential

Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).

Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.

Contraindication

A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 1
Primary purpose
Other
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
13 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    2-[18F]-FA PET/CT

    Subjects will participate in two separate 10-hour PET/CT Scan Sessions (each with 2 hours of actual PET/CT scanning): one following an overnight abstinence and one following two overnights of abstinence. To achieve and confirm two overnights of abstinence, participants will present to the inpatient CHPS the day prior to the scheduled scan and stay overnight

    Drug: 2-[18F]-FA PET/CT · Drug: I.V. Nicotine

Interventions

  • Drug2-[18F]-FA PET/CT

    2-\[18F\]FA is a highly specific radiotracer which has been used successfully to image nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the human brain to characterize the effects of nicotine exposure (via smoking) on these receptors.

  • DrugI.V. Nicotine

    Subjects in our study will receive intravenous nicotine at the adaptation session and each of the PET scans, close to the amount of nicotine absorbed from smoking 1/10 cigarette.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Duration of abstinence affects brain nAChR availability in smokers

    To determine how duration of abstinence affects brain nAChR availability in smokers who metabolize nicotine at slow and normal rates (measured by the nicotine-metabolite ratio (NMR)).

    Time frame: 2 years

  2. How nicotine administration affects nAChR availability during early abstinence in smokers

    To compare how nicotine administration affects nAChR availability during early abstinence in smokers who metabolize nicotine at slow and normal rates (measured by the NMR).

    Time frame: 2 years

Secondary outcomes

  1. Standard measures of cigarette craving and withdrawal to nAChR availability in smokers

    To correlate standard measures of cigarette craving and withdrawal to nAChR availability in smokers who metabolize nicotine at slow and normal rates (measured by the NMR) who are abstinent, before and after administration of IV nicotine

    Time frame: 2 years

07

Study locations

1 site
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reached

Started Jun 2018 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Nov 2026, 100 months after the start.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Feb 16, 2018
First posted
Feb 22, 2018
StartActual
Jun 28, 2018
Primary completionEst.
Nov 22, 2026
CompletionEst.
Nov 22, 2026
Last update
Feb 3, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Feb 3, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03442413
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Feb 22, 2018
Start date
Jun 28, 2018
Primary completion
Nov 22, 2026 (estimated)
Completion
Nov 22, 2026 (estimated)
Last update
Feb 3, 2026

Oversight

FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is active, not recruiting, as verified in Feb 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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Discussion

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