TREATMENT OF COCAINE ABUSE WITH IMIPRAMINE

Cocaine abuse is a major public health problem in the United States with no accepted pharmacologic treatment. We propose a placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind outpatient study evaluating imipramine as a treatment for cocaine abuse in 80 chronic users. The study is designed to: 1) determine the efficacy of imipramine as an outpatient medication treatment for cocaine abuse 2) determine the efficacy of imipramine in blocking the cocaine euphoria and/or diminishing the craving for cocaine in abusers 3) examine the physiologic response to cocaine via a controlled laboratory challenge with cocaine before and after imipramine 4) determine the prevalence and types of psychiatric disorders in chronic cocaine abusers and contribute to the determination of whether "cocaine dependence" should be a part of the official nosology of mental disorders.