The effectiveness of oxytocin for treating substance use disorders:A systematic review of randomized placebo-controlled trials

Oxytocin is gaining traction in the treatment of various substance use disorders (SUD). We performed a sys-tematic review assessing the efficacy of oxytocin for treating different SUD. The electronic databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched for randomized controlled trials examining the effects of oxytocin vs. placebo in SUD samples. Quality assessment was conducted using a Cochrane validated checklist. A total of 17 trials with unique samples were identified. These were conducted on participants with SUD involving alcohol (n = 5), opioids (n = 3), opioids and/or cocaine/other stimulants (n = 3), cannabis (n = 2), or nicotine (n = 4). Across the SUD-groups, oxytocin reduced withdrawal symptoms (3/5 trials), negative emotional states (4/11 trials), cravings (4/11 trials), cue-induced cravings (4/7 trials), and consumption (4/8 trials). Sixteen trials had an overall considerable risk of bias. In conclusion, although oxytocin showed some promising therapeutic effects, the findings are too inconsistent and the trials too heterogeneous to derive any firm conclusions. Sounder methodological and well-powered trials are warranted.

Automated summary

Oxytocin is being increasingly recognized for its potential in the treatment of substance use disorders (SUD). A systematic review was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of oxytocin in different SUDs. Overall, oxytocin showed some promising effects in reducing withdrawal symptoms, negative emotions, cravings, cue-induced cravings, and consumption. However, the findings were inconsistent and the trials had considerable risk of bias, requiring more methodologically sound and well-powered trials.