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.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse is a component of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIDA supports most of the world’s research on the health aspects of drug abuse and addiction. The Institute carries out a large variety of programs to ensure the rapid dissemination of research information and its implementation in policy and practice. Fact sheets on the health effects of drugs of abuse and information on NIDA research and other activities can be found on the NIDA home page at http://www.drugabuse.gov.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.