Lesson plan

Gabasync

Gabasync is an ineffective treatment promoted for methamphetamine addiction, although it had also been claimed to be effective for dependence on alcohol or cocaine. It was marketed as PROMETA. The treatment, based loosely on research of a Spanish psychologist, involved a combination of three medications (gabapentin, flumazenil and hydroxyzine) as well as therapy. While the individual drugs had been approved by the FDA, their off-label use for addiction treatment has not. Gabasync was marketed by Hythiam, Inc. which is owned by Terren Peizer, a former junk bond salesman who has since been indicted for securities fraud relative to another company. Hythiam has sought to patent the protocol and charges up to $15,000 per patient to license its use (of which half goes to the prescribing physician, and half to Hythiam). Lower rates are offered to the criminal justice system, where it has been used in drug court pilot programs. In November 2011, the results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled study (financed by Hythiam and carried out at UCLA) were published in the peer-reviewed journal Addiction. It concluded that Gabasync is ineffective: "The PROMETA protocol, consisting of flumazenil, gabapentin and hydroxyzine, appears to be no more effective than placebo in reducing methamphetamine use, retaining patients in treatment or reducing methamphetamine craving."

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Article summary

Gabasync is an ineffective treatment promoted for methamphetamine addiction, although it had also been claimed to be effective for dependence on alcohol or cocaine. It was marketed as PROMETA. The treatment, based loosely on research of a Spanish psychologist, involved a combination of three medications (gabapentin, flumazenil and hydroxyzine) as well as therapy. While the individual drugs had been approved by the FDA, their off-label use for addiction treatment has not. Gabasync was marketed by Hythiam, Inc. which is owned by Terren Peizer, a former junk bond salesman who has since been indicted for securities fraud relative to another company. Hythiam has sought to patent the protocol and charges up to $15,000 per patient to license its use (of which half goes to the prescribing physician, and half to Hythiam). Lower rates are offered to the criminal justice system, where it has been used in drug court pilot programs. In November 2011, the results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled study (financed by Hythiam and carried out at UCLA) were published in the peer-reviewed journal Addiction. It concluded that Gabasync is ineffective: "The PROMETA protocol, consisting of flumazenil, gabapentin and hydroxyzine, appears to be no more effective than placebo in reducing methamphetamine use, retaining patients in treatment or reducing methamphetamine craving."

Key claims

  1. date of foundation: 2006 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the date of foundation is "2006". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  4. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1315019520

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.