Gabapentin Treatment of Benzodiazepine Dependence

Gabapentin has proven to be a safe and well-tolerated medication with a low abuse liability, thereby making it ideal for use in the outpatient setting. The proposed Exploratory Development research project is a double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial comparing the efficacy of gabapentin to placebo for the outpatient treatment of benzodiazepine dependence. The goal of this project is to study the effects of gabapentin on the participants' benzodiazepine use in a facilitated taper-to-abstinence model, where participants will be actively using benzodiazepines at study entry, gabapentin treatment will be introduced, and participants will be counseled to gradually discontinue benzodiazepine use over the study period while gabapentin treatment is maintained. A modified version of Medical Management will be used to facilitate compliance with study medication and other study procedures, and includes clinical instruction for gradually reducing benzodiazepine use 25% per week. Benzodiazepines are not prescribed in the proposed study; participants continue to obtain benzodiazepines from their own prescribed or nonprescribed sources.