About this webinar:

This webinar will present the findings of a recently completed Phase 3 clinical trial of mirtazapine for methamphetamine use, the Tina Trial. This pragmatic trial was conducted in six outpatient clinics in Australia. It was designed to test whether mirtazapine could be used safely and effectively in routine clinical practice as a pharmacotherapy for methamphetamine use. This webinar will present the findings of the trial, where 344 people with moderate to severe methamphetamine use disorder were randomised to receive either mirtazapine (30 mg/day) for 12 weeks or a matched placebo. 

About the speaker:

Professor Rebecca McKetin (BSc(Psychol)Hons. PhD) leads a program of research into stimulant use epidemiology and interventions at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC), UNSW. Her current research involves the online delivery of psychological help for people who use stimulants (Breaking the Ice, wadawanti), trialling new pharmacotherapy options for methamphetamine dependence (the Tina Trial, the N-ICE trial; the LiMA study), and the development of novel responses to methamphetamine use in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities (NIMAC). She has recently initiated the OASIS project, which will establish a universal data linkage platform to understand, monitor, and respond to illicit drug use risks and health outcomes in Australia. Professor McKetin established the first longitudinal treatment outcomes study for methamphetamine use in Australia (the Methamphetamine Treatment Outcomes Study, MATES); she has adapted in-direct prevalence estimation methods to estimate the number of people dependent on methamphetamine in Australia, consulted to the UN to develop systems to monitor amphetamine-type stimulant use in the Asia Pacific region, and her work has been pivotal in quantifying health risks associated with methamphetamine use. She is a Senior Editor for Addiction, a consultant to the United Nations, and a member of the Australian Institute of Policy and Science.