Studying the Studies: Shorter Clinical Trials of Medication for Alcohol Use Disorder Are as Useful or More Useful than Longer Trials

Source Summary

Randomized control trials that are shorter than 12 weeks show similar results to longer trials when assessing a new medication's effectiveness in helping someone with alcohol use disorder reduce or stop drinking. And in trials where the medication showed significant effects, trials lasting 12 weeks or shorter produced more reliable results than longer trials, according to a meta-analysis of clinical trials published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research. Currently, the US Food and Drug Administration recommends clinical trials of alcohol use disorder medications last at least six months. The authors of the analysis recommend that regulators and researchers consider shorter duration trials, which reduce burden and risk for trial participants and lower research costs.