Posts tagged with ‘medications’

Heroin-Assisted Treatment: A Closer Look at a Forbidden Possibility

 Heroin-Assisted Treatment: A Closer Look at a Forbidden PossibilityIn drug maintenance therapies for opioid addiction, less dangerous narcotics called methadone and buprenorphine are substituted for heroin and prescription painkillers. Doses are administered in a clinical setting and over time an attempt is made to phase out the maintenance drugs and eliminate opioid dependency entirely. Legally obtained methadone and buprenorphine have become increasingly popular with addiction specialists looking to guide their patients back to good health, as drug replacement therapy has been shown to produce excellent results in both controlled studies and real-world conditions.

But on a worldwide basis, methadone and buprenorphine are not the only options for treatment professionals interested in trying drug maintenance therapy. In a half-dozen European countries, heroin itself, in synthetic form, is also being used as a replacement drug to help addicts control their heroin dependency.  Full Story

Buprenorphine/Naloxone Effective in Opioid Addicts With Co-Occurring Disorders

Buprenorphine-Naloxone-Effective-in-Opioid-Addicts-With-Co-Occurring-DisordersBuprenorphine and naloxone are two medications often used together to help individuals recovering from an addiction to opioid drugs or medications. A significant number of the people affected by an opioid addiction also have diagnosable problems stemming from a serious mental health issue such as major depression, bipolar disorder or an anxiety disorder. In a study published in March 2014 in The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, researchers from five U.S. institutions sought to determine if the buprenorphine-naloxone combination still produces treatment benefits in recovering prescription opioid addicts also affected by a co-existing mental health problem.

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