Effectiveness Of Atomoxetine For Cognitive Function In Methamphetamine Dependent Patients; A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: A substantial body of evidences indicates that methamphetamine abuse can lead to persistent and serious cognitive dysfunction. Preclinical studies and early pilot clinical investigations have suggested that atomoxetine, a cognitive enhancer may be useful in improving of cognitive dysfunction. The present study evaluated whether atomoxetine would effect on cognitive dysfunction in methamphetamine dependent patients. Methods: Participants with methamphetamine dependence (N =86) which were on methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) were enrolled in a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial. This investigation was performed on 86 subjects to consume either 40 mg/day atomoxetine (n = 45) or placebo (n = 41) for 8 weeks. Between January 2016 and June 2017, volunteers were selected from methamphetamine abusers in MMT centers in Kashan, Iran. They completed at the first and each monthly visit the Cognitive Abilities Questionnaire for assessing the cognitive functions. The data were analyzed using Independent sample t test, Mann Whitney test and chi square with SPSS version 20.0. Results: This study revealed that, atomoxetine treatment improved some of the cognitive dysfunctions in methamphetamine users including memory, inhibitory control, selective attention, decision making, planning, sustained attention, and cognitive flexibility in methamphetamine users (p<0.05), but  the social cognition improvement  was less than others (p=0.107). There were only mild side effects in placebo and atomoxetine groups. Conclusions: The findings show the efficacy of atomoxetine for improving the cognitive dysfunction in methamphetamine users and suggest potential efficacy of atomoxetine for treating them.