Conditions: Alcohol Dependence
Keywords: Alcohol Use Disorders Traumatic Brain Injury Mood and Anxiety Disorders
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 62
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
The purpose of this research study is to understand the effectiveness of valproate (a common mood stabilizer) to further reduce alcohol misuse when given in addition to attending an alcohol rehabilitation program as well as the treatment of mood disorders or PTSD. The main goal of this project is to understand if people receiving valproate will have a better recovery than people receiving the standard treatment for alcohol dependence: naltrexone.

Detailed description:
Veterans are vulnerable to develop complex forms of addictive disorders characterized by the presence of traumatic brain injury and psychiatric conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder and mood disturbances. Alcohol use disorders are frequently observed among veterans and exert a detrimental effect on community reintegration after deployment. Attending to this veteran health problem, the VA is devoting extraordinary efforts to develop adequate treatment strategies. In this study we will evaluate treatment outcomes and identify specific factors that influence alcohol use disorders treatment response in a VA Intensive Outpatient Program offering rehabilitation treatment to the growing number of veterans with alcohol use disorders. Cooperation between researchers and clinical staff will allow optimizing treatment strategies that enhance the recovery of veterans with alcohol use disorders.

Arms:
arm 1: sodium valproate arm 2: naltrexone

Interventions: intervention 1: Valproate intervention 2: Naltrexone
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: 250mg per day 30 minutes after a meal. Dosages will be increase as tolerated to a maximum recommended dosage of 60 mg per kg per day. Usual dosage is between 1250mg to 2000mg per day intervention 2: 25mg per day, taken by mouth for 7 days, then 50mg per day

Protocol document: