ONE-SHOT HEROIN TREATMENT 'PROMISING'

A SINGLE injection could be all it takes to halt heroin addiction, after a
trial showed the potential new treatment prevented addicts' withdrawal
symptoms for six weeks.

Psychiatrists at Johns Hopkins University in the United States said the
finding could make treatment much cheaper and more accessible to users.

Heroin abusers who volunteered for the trial had their supply of narcotics
abruptly cut off and were instead given a single injection of a
slow-release form of buprenorphine - a drug that plugs into the same
receptors in the brain as heroin and other opiates.

Buprenorphine is already used as a daily pill to treat heroin addiction
along with psychiatric counselling, but has not before been tested as a
one-off injection, or in the absence of counselling.

Study leader George Bigelow reported in the journal Drug and Alcohol
Dependence that the volunteers were assessed for signs and symptoms of
heroin withdrawal, and given weekly injections of an opiate.

"The results were promising both for prevention of the opioid withdrawal
syndrome and for blockade of the opioid high from the ... challenge
injections," Dr Bigelow wrote.

No withdrawal symptoms were observed and the effect of the weekly opiate
injections appeared to be greatly reduced, the scientists said.

"The ability of a single medication dose to have beneficial effects over
four to six weeks is a significant finding for the treatment of opioid
dependence," he said.

"This longer-acting formulation could increase patient adherence to
treatment, ease the visit burden on both patients and providers, and make
treatment more accessible."

Further research was needed to decide how the new treatment could be best
used, Dr Bigelow said.