News (Media Awareness Project) - US: New Heroin Addiction Treatments Work As Well As Methadone |
Title: | US: New Heroin Addiction Treatments Work As Well As Methadone |
Published On: | 2000-11-02 |
Source: | Los Angeles Times (CA) |
Fetched On: | 2008-09-03 03:38:46 |
NEW HEROIN ADDICTION TREATMENTS WORK AS WELL AS METHADONE
The first head-to-head comparison of treatments for heroin addiction
found that two newer, easier-to-take medicines work just as well as
methadone, the standard drug since the 1960s. Unlike methadone, which
has to be taken daily, the two other drugs are longer-acting and can
be taken only three times a week.
Previous studies have shown all three medications--methadone, Orlaam
and buprenorphine--to be effective in treating heroin addiction.
Orlaam was approved in 1993, but is not widely used. Buprenorphine is
awaiting approval. A team from Johns Hopkins University studied 220
heroin addicts for 17 weeks and reported in today's New England
Journal of Medicine that all were roughly equally effective.
The first head-to-head comparison of treatments for heroin addiction
found that two newer, easier-to-take medicines work just as well as
methadone, the standard drug since the 1960s. Unlike methadone, which
has to be taken daily, the two other drugs are longer-acting and can
be taken only three times a week.
Previous studies have shown all three medications--methadone, Orlaam
and buprenorphine--to be effective in treating heroin addiction.
Orlaam was approved in 1993, but is not widely used. Buprenorphine is
awaiting approval. A team from Johns Hopkins University studied 220
heroin addicts for 17 weeks and reported in today's New England
Journal of Medicine that all were roughly equally effective.
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