Buprenorphine Treatment for Opioid Addicts
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 6:28 PM

Methadone treatment for heroin addicts is pretty effective, as these things go. For many addicts, once-a-day methadone stabilizes them, prevents withdrawal, and allows them to maintain a more-or-less normal life. But it looks as if a drug called "buprenorphine" is even better, at least for many opioid addicts. You take it less frequently, and in the form in which it is provided in treatment, it is not easily subject to abuse. As a result, doctors can prescribe a month's supply at a time to an addict, reducing the need for clinic visits. It has only been available for treatment in the US for a short time. This fine story, in yesterday's New York Times, has more.

Labels: addiction, buprenorphine, heroin, treatment