Opioid Use Disorder (OUD)

This study is evaluating the Sparrow Link, a wearable device that delivers gentle electrical signals to nerves in the outer ear (a technique known as transcutaneous auricular neurostimulation, or tAN). The goal is to assess whether the device is feasible to use, acceptable to patients, and may help reduce opioid withdrawal symptoms in hospitalized adults being treated for opioid use disorder (OUD). Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either the active device or a sham (inactive) version. Neither participants nor their clinical teams will know which version is used. All participants will continue receiving standard hospital care for opioid withdrawal. Researchers will collect information on how long participants use the device, whether they stop using it early, and changes in withdrawal severity. The study will also examine pain, craving, mood, anxiety, heart rate variability, and opioid use during hospitalization.

This study aims to understand how ibogaine treatment may change brain activity and symptoms in people with moderate-severe opioid use disorder (OUD), as defined by the DSM-5. Ibogaine is a plant-derived compound that some studies suggest can reduce opioid cravings and withdrawal. Participants in this study will already be independently scheduled to receive legal ibogaine treatment at a licensed clinic outside of the U.S. The University of California, Irvine (UCI) research team will not provide the treatment but will conduct brain imaging, administer psychometric questionnaires, and obtain urine samples throughout the course of this study. UCI does not sponsor or financially support the ibogaine treatment in any way; all treatment costs are the sole responsibility of the participant. The main goal is to see if ibogaine changes brain function as assessed with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), and electroencephalography (EEG). MRI/MRS will measure brain activity when participants view opioid-related images, brain connectivity at rest, and levels of brain chemicals involved in craving and substance use. EEG will measure brain wave activity. MRI/MRS/EEG will be administered across 3 study time points. In addition, participants will complete psychometric surveys related to opioid craving, withdrawal symptoms, mood, anxiety, pain, and quality of life, along with urine tests to monitor substance use and screen for pregnancy. The investigators hypothesize that after ibogaine treatment, participants will show reduced brain responses to opioid cues, changes in brain connectivity and chemistry, and improvements in self-reported cravings and other symptoms. This information may help researchers better understand how ibogaine works in the brain and whether it could play a role in future treatments for OUD.

This first-in-human, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, single ascending dose (SAD), phase I study is designed to assess the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of VK4-116 in healthy volunteers in fasted and fed state.

The goal of this clinical trial is to examine the effects of reminder and mindfulness text messages on medication adherence and managing craving, pain, and withdrawal symptoms in people taking medications for opioid use disorder through assessment questions collected twice daily during the course of treatment. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Do daily medication reminder text messages increase medication adherence for people taking medications for opioid use disorder? 2. To what extent do people engage with the daily mindfulness messages? 3. What impact does daily mindfulness text message quantity have on craving, pain, forgetfulness, and withdrawal symptoms? Participants will: 1. Receive daily medication reminder text messages for at least 24 weeks (i.e., 6 months) 2. Receive up to 6 mindfulness messages per day for 4 weeks (i.e., 1 month) 3. Answer daily questions twice a day during the 4 weeks of mindfulness messages 4. Answer questions about the study when enrolling, at the end of the 4 weeks of mindfulness messages, and at 4 and 16 weeks after the end of the mindfulness messages

Initiations of methadone treatment for opiode use disorder (OUD) are carried out in France in specialized centers, known as centers for care, support and prevention in addictology (CSAPA) In this way, hospital practitioners initiate the prescription of methadone, which is delivered on the spot by the nursing team. CSAPA nurses, and addictology nurses more generally, have a real range of skills which can include adapting treatment doses according to a protocol pre-established in a team, and medically validated (French law no. 2019-774 of July 24, 2019 relating to the organization and transformation of the healthcare system). The methadone speciality used for initiation in CSAPAs is almost always the syrup form. The capsule form can only be used after one year's treatment, unless exceptionally authorized by the medical officer of the French National Health Insurance Fund. However, regulations stipulate that the prescription of methadone syrup must be renewed every fourteen days, which in theory means that a CSAPA doctor must see the patient at least twice a month to renew the prescription, throughout the entire course of treatment. In practice, medical resources are often not sufficient for patients to be seen by a doctor at such a rate. Numerous palliative organizations exist, though they remain poorly described and documented. In some centers, doctors focus primarily on initiations, and prescriptions for patients for whom "stability" has been achieved are sometimes renewed for longer periods than fourteen days, with nurses in charge of assessing whether this organization is suitable for the patient. The notion of stability varies significantly from one center to another, and may mean achieving a constant dose, stopping illicit opioid use, or other criteria more focused on the patient's psychosocial reintegration. By outlining the missions of Addictology nurses, and more specifically of CSAPA nurses, the investigators can define the essential skills required of nurses to carry out these missions. The main hypothesis of the DIADEME study is that semi-autonomous management of methadone treatment initiation by CSAPA nursing teams helps to reinforce adherence to care and thus improve retention rates in the 3 months following initiation.

The long-term goal of the project is to determine whether cannabidiol (CBD) can reduce craving and relapse in individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD). The first phase of this project was an open cross-over design study in healthy individuals to confirm the safety and pharmacokinetic (PK) effects of CBD (BSPG CBD; Brains Bioceutical). The second phase was a double-blinded randomized controlled trial to determine whether CBD reduces craving and anxiety in individuals with OUD maintained on opioid agonist therapy. This phase 3 trial will determine whether CBD can serve as a potential adjunct treatment to reduce illicit opioid use in individuals with OUD maintained on opioid agonist therapy.

The purpose of this study is to determine if personalized (adaptive) Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) based upon invasive brain mapping is safe and can lead to better outcomes like reductions in craving and opioid use.

The goal of this study is to develop a loading dose approach to starting methadone to treat opioid use disorder with fentanyl use ("fentanyl OUD", herein). This study is a participant- and assessor- blinded dose-finding study using the Bayesian optimal interval (BOIN) design. Investigators aim to recruit n=24 participants with fentanyl OUD to a research unit for monitored methadone initiation. Participants will be randomized to standard initiation vs. loading dose initiation at one of four doses.

A scientific study to design and implement a contingency management (CM) program, and to evaluate its effectiveness in promoting abstinence and treatment adherence among individuals with opioid use disorder, as well as to explore its potential for broader implementation in clinical settings.