Drug Implant for Opioid Addiction Looks Effective

09:16 Implanting the addiction-treatment drug buprenorphine in people who are opioid-dependent 0 Comments

Drug Implant for Opioid Addiction Looks Effective: "Implanting the addiction-treatment drug buprenorphine in people who are opioid-dependent seems to reduce cravings in the short term, researchers say.
By delivering a low but continuous dose of the medication, the implant is designed to reduce the risk that patients addicted to heroin or prescription painkillers (such as Oxycontin) will relapse after missing doses of buprenorphine or simply stop the daily, under-the-tongue treatment altogether.
Dr. Walter Ling, from the University of California, Los Angeles, and his colleagues report their findings in the Oct. 13 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association."