Participants receiving dehydroepiandrosterone during treatment for cocaine dependence show high rates of cocaine use in a placebo-controlled pilot study

Twenty-three cocaine-dependent participants were randomly assigned to receive either dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA; n = 11; 100 mg/day) or placebo (n = 12) in the context of 12 weeks of thrice weekly cognitive-behavioral group counseling. Outcomes were retention, urine drug screening, cocaine craving, adverse experiences, and medication compliance. DHEA-treated participants averaged 45.8 (SD = 28.8) days in treatment, compared with 70.7 (SD = 20.6) days for placebo, t(21) = -2.4, p = .03, and provided 26.8% (SD = 29.3) of urine samples free of cocaine metabolite compared with 70.6% (SD = 39.9) for the placebo condition, t(21) = -3.0, p = .01. No differences were detected between conditions for cocaine craving or adverse experiences. High levels of medication compliance were documented. Results argue against using high doses of DHEA as a pharmacotherapy for cocaine dependence.