Opioid withdrawal patterns that affect treatment response
Assessing a Clinically-meaningful Opioid Withdrawal Phenotype
This project looks at whether different withdrawal patterns in adults with opioid use disorder predict who does better with medications like buprenorphine or clonidine.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Maryland Baltimore NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Baltimore, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11312046 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would join a residential research program enrolling equal numbers of men and women with opioid use disorder. Participants will be briefly stabilized on an opioid agonist and take part in controlled naloxone challenges as well as monitored observation of spontaneous withdrawal, while clinicians record withdrawal symptoms. Researchers will use those symptom patterns to group people into high- and low-withdrawal types and compare how each group responds to OUD medications. The aim is to confirm earlier findings and help guide more personalized withdrawal care.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Adults with opioid use disorder who can stay in a residential unit, be briefly stabilized on an opioid agonist, and agree to naloxone challenge testing are ideal candidates.
Not a fit: People without opioid use disorder, those unwilling to undergo residential stays or naloxone challenges, and individuals with unstable medical or psychiatric conditions may not be eligible or receive benefit.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help match people to medications and withdrawal-management plans that work better for their specific withdrawal pattern.
How similar studies have performed: Prior analysis of a larger randomized trial suggested HIGH and LOW withdrawal phenotypes relate to treatment response, but this focused human-lab confirmation is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
Baltimore, United States
- University of Maryland Baltimore — Baltimore, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Dunn, Kelly E — University of Maryland Baltimore
- Study coordinator: Dunn, Kelly E
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.