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.