News Release

Two Research Centers Join the NIDA Clinical Trials Network

This is Archived Content. This content is available for historical purposes only. It may not reflect the current state of science or language from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). View current news releases on nida.nih.gov.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institutes of Health, today announced the establishment of two new Clinical Trials Network (CTN) affiliates. This development increases the range of NIDA's research infrastructure to test drug addiction treatments in real-life settings with diverse patient populations.

"Our goal is to improve the quality of drug abuse treatment throughout the nation, using science as the vehicle. Research conducted through the CTN will shorten the time it takes to bring laboratory research findings about drug abuse and addiction to useful implementation in real-life community treatment settings," says NIDA Director Dr. Nora D. Volkow.

The new nodes are:

  • The Texas Node, which comprises the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and eleven community treatment providers in Dallas?Ft. Worth, Austin, and El Paso; and
  • The Appalachian Tri-State Node, which includes a research group at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, in partnership with five community treatment providers in West Virginia, eastern Ohio, and western Pennsylvania.

These new nodes join 15 existing nodes and brings the total number of community-based treatment programs to approximately 150.

The CTN is at the cutting edge of improving the quality of drug treatment in this nation by introducing scientifically proven treatments in community based treatment programs. It has enabled rapid, concurrent testing of a wide range of promising behavioral therapies, medications, and their combined use across a range of populations, treatment settings, and community environments.

Since its inception just six years ago, 16 protocols have completed enrollment of over 5,000 patients in 103 community treatment programs in over 20 states. Five additional protocols currently are recruiting and enrolling an estimated 2,200 participants across 38 community treatment programs. In addition, scientists have completed data collection for nine protocols. Five new protocols are currently being developed. NIDA and other components of the PHS now are preparing local treatment centers for adoption of CTN proven interventions.