A goal of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), in its efforts to reduce alcohol-related problems, is to understand long-term outcomes of patients who have received treatment for alcohol dependence as well as identify factors that affect these outcomes. Most studies to date have provided only short-to medium term patient follow-up (usually one year or less). It is now well-recognized that alcohol dependence is frequently a long-term chronic condition. Yet the longer term effects of treatment, factors affecting longer-term treatment outcomes and methods of evaluating these outcomes are not well studied or understood. The current project addresses this gap in knowledge in an efficient and cost-effective manner through long term follow-up of subjects enrolled in NIAAA sponsored randomized clinical trials (RCT). The contract builds on previously and currently funded studies of well-characterized RCT treatment populations. RCT medications to date include naltrexone and acamprosate, from the """"""""Combining Medications and Behavioral Interventions"""""""" (COMBINE) study;and quetiapine and keppra, medications which are part of an Institute-directed set of Phase II clinical trials under the NIAAA Clinical Investigations Group (NCIG).
