NEWER ANTI-ADDICTION DRUGS

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. This study
looked at them together for the first time.

The two newer drugs could improve treatment of heroin addiction by giving
doctors more options, said researcher Rolley E. Johnson of the Johns
Hopkins University School of Medicine, who led the study published in
today's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Methadone, a synthetic narcotic, has been used for more than 30 years to
treat heroin addiction. It suppresses withdrawal symptoms and curbs the
craving for heroin.

Orlaam, another synthetic narcotic known generically as levomethadyl
acetate, was approved in 1993 but has not been widely used. Buprenorphine,
also a synthetic narcotic, is awaiting approval from the Food and Drug
Administration for use as an anti-addiction drug. It causes weaker narcotic
effects.

Methadone and Orlaam are liquids, while buprenorphine will be marketed as a
tablet. But all three drugs were given in liquid form during the study so
that participants would not know what they were getting.

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