Trial · NCT02989493

Testing Doxazosin to Treat Stress Mechanisms in Alcoholism

NCT02989493, Phase 2, Completed, University of Wisconsin, Madison; results first posted 2021-03-18

3 sourcestrials-2026-11-12-0.5.0

Cite this record

ConductScience Library. Testing Doxazosin to Treat Stress Mechanisms in Alcoholism. Trials, record NCT02989493. Release trials-2026-11-12-0.5.0, 12 Nov 2026. https://conductscience.org/library/trials/NCT02989493

On this page

Trial

As registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, in the graph's capture of the registry.

Title: Testing Doxazosin to Treat Stress Mechanisms in Alcoholism
NCT number: NCT02989493
Status: Completed
Phases: Phase 2
Enrollment: 61 participants, actual
Lead sponsor: University of Wisconsin, Madison
Conditions: Alcoholism
Interventions: Doxazosin, Placebo
First posted: 2016-12-12
Last updated: 2021-03-18
Results first posted: 2021-03-18

Source ClinicalTrials.gov

Registered outcomes2

Each outcome the trial registered, primary first, in ClinicalTrials.gov's words.

List	Outcome	Time frame	Description
Primary	Startle Potentiation During Stress Reactivity Task	4 weeks	Startle potentiation is used to study anxiety and fear with No-shock, Predictable-shock, Unpredictable-shock (NPU) task; a common, well-validated laboratory stressor task. In the Predictable condition of the NPU task, shocks are 100 percent predictable and occur at a consistent, known time. In the Unpredictable condition of the NPU task, shocks are fully unpredictable. A higher score on startle potentiation means a higher stress reactivity response for the given condition.
Primary	Number of Participants Reporting Any Heavy Drinking Days	8 weeks	Timeline-followback (TLFB) was administered twice at 4 weeks and 8 weeks. Participants reported the number of drinks per day for each previous 30 day period. Any heavy drinking was scored "yes" if participant reported any days of heavy drinking (\> 4/3 standard drinks for men/women) during the total 8 week assessment period; "no" if no heavy drinking was reported

Source ClinicalTrials.gov

Outcomes2

Each outcome the trial posted results for, in ClinicalTrials.gov's words.

Type	Outcome	Time frame	Population	Units	Measured as
PRIMARY	Startle Potentiation During Stress Reactivity Task	4 weeks	Although all 61 participants were able to provide TLFB data through the end of 8 weeks, the NPU task required that they attend a study visit at 4 weeks. 24 participants (10 in doxazosin, 13 in placebo) did not complete that study visit and so have data missing for this outcome measure. 1 (doxazosin) attended the visit but chose not to complete the NPU task. 2 participants (both placebo) completed NPU at this visit, but their NPU data was unusable for this analysis due to technical issues.	microvolts	MEAN
PRIMARY	Number of Participants Reporting Any Heavy Drinking Days	8 weeks		Participants	COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS

Source ClinicalTrials.gov

Results by group6

Each measurement the trial posted, group by group, in the words and numbers it posted.

Outcome	Group	Category	Value	Spread	Units
Startle Potentiation During Stress Reactivity Task	Doxazosin	Unpredictable startle potentiation	22.25	Standard Deviation 20.18	microvolts
Startle Potentiation During Stress Reactivity Task	Placebo	Unpredictable startle potentiation	20.76	Standard Deviation 23.21	microvolts
Startle Potentiation During Stress Reactivity Task	Doxazosin	Predictable startle potentiation	26.22	Standard Deviation 30.90	microvolts
Startle Potentiation During Stress Reactivity Task	Placebo	Predictable startle potentiation	22.21	Standard Deviation 35.93	microvolts
Number of Participants Reporting Any Heavy Drinking Days	Doxazosin		17		Participants
Number of Participants Reporting Any Heavy Drinking Days	Placebo		21		Participants

Source ClinicalTrials.gov

Participant flow6

How many started, completed or left each group, period by period.

Period	Milestone	Group	Participants
Overall Study	STARTED	Doxazosin	29
Overall Study	STARTED	Placebo	32
Overall Study	COMPLETED	Doxazosin	29
Overall Study	COMPLETED	Placebo	32
Overall Study	NOT COMPLETED	Doxazosin	0
Overall Study	NOT COMPLETED	Placebo	0

Source ClinicalTrials.gov

Adverse events30

Each adverse event the trial posted, group by group: the participants affected out of those at risk.

Type	Event	Organ system	Group	Affected	At risk	Events
other	Orthostatic hypertension	Vascular disorders	Doxazosin	14	29	24
other	Orthostatic hypertension	Vascular disorders	Placebo	7	32	18
other	Dizziness	Ear and labyrinth disorders	Doxazosin	9	29	17
other	Dizziness	Ear and labyrinth disorders	Placebo	7	32	9
other	Cardiac arrhythmia	Cardiac disorders	Doxazosin	8	29	12
other	Cardiac arrhythmia	Cardiac disorders	Placebo	6	32	7
other	Chest pains	Cardiac disorders	Doxazosin	2	29	5
other	Chest pains	Cardiac disorders	Placebo	0	32	0
other	Fatigue	General disorders	Doxazosin	15	29	38
other	Fatigue	General disorders	Placebo	17	32	36

1 to 10 of 30Source ClinicalTrials.gov

See all 30 adverse events

Adverse event totals6

The totals the trial posted for each group.

Total	Group	Affected	At risk
Total, all-cause mortality	Doxazosin	0	29
Total, all-cause mortality	Placebo	0	32
Total, other adverse events	Doxazosin	24	29
Total, other adverse events	Placebo	28	32
Total, serious adverse events	Doxazosin	0	29
Total, serious adverse events	Placebo	0	32

Source ClinicalTrials.gov

Papers0

The papers the trial lists on ClinicalTrials.gov.

None in this release.

Grants1

The grants NIH RePORTER links to the trial, newest funded first: NIH's, and some of AHRQ's, CDC's, FDA's and VA's. Each shows its title, principal investigators, organization and funder in its newest year.

Project	Title	Principal investigators	Organization	Funder	Fiscal years
R01AA024388	RCT targeting noradrenergic stress mechanisms in alcoholism with doxazosin	CURTIN, JOHN J.	UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON	NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM	2015 to 2019

Source NIH RePORTER

Trial comparisons3

Comparisons of the trial's two groups, calculated by ConductScience from the counts it posted.

Comparison	Source
Doxazosin vs Placebo: Number of Participants Reporting Any Heavy Drinking Days	Trial comparisons
Doxazosin vs Placebo: deaths from any cause	Trial comparisons
Doxazosin vs Placebo: serious adverse events	Trial comparisons

Tests0

The ConductCognition tests this trial's registered outcomes name, as ScienceGraph matched them in trial-tests-2026-11-12-0.2.1.

None in this release.

Data dates

The day each source was copied for this release.

ClinicalTrials.gov: 2026-11-12; ClinicalTrials.gov
Results, from AACT: 2026-03-23; AACT
NIH grant links: 2026-11-13; NIH RePORTER

Sources 3

ClinicalTrials.gov's posted results, through CTTI's AACTFreely available. Acknowledgement requested
ClinicalTrials.govNo license stated
NIH RePORTER's clinical studies and project filesPublic domain

Each source's terms

ClinicalTrials.gov's posted results, through CTTI's AACTClinicalTrials.gov data via Aggregate Analysis of ClinicalTrials.gov (AACT), CTTI. CTTI makes its materials freely available and requests acknowledgement. https://aact.ctti-clinicaltrials.org/documentation/299
ClinicalTrials.govnone stated
NIH RePORTER's clinical studies and project filesPublic domain (NIH RePORTER)

ClinicalTrials.gov's data carry an international copyright outside the United States: https://clinicaltrials.gov/about-site/terms-conditions.

For software

Read this trial from software.

The record and each of its lists are JSON, twenty rows a page. No key.

GET https://conductscience.org/api/trials/v1/NCT02989493

GET https://conductscience.org/api/trials/v1/NCT02989493/events?page=2

API reference For AI assistants