New findings indicate that the implantation of buprenorphine in people addicted to opiates helps to reduce short-term cravings for the drugs. The buprenorphine implant will deliver a low and continuous dose of the drug. It is designed to lower the risk that those addicted to heroin or prescription drugs will relapse after missing doses of buprenorphine or just stop the daily, under the tongue treatment of the drug.
A research team led by Dr. Walter Ling from the University of California, Los Angeles has published their news in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
"In summary, this study found that the use of buprenorphine implants compared with placebo resulted in less opioid use over 16 weeks and also across the full 24 weeks," said the research team.
The United States National Institute on Drug Abuse recommends that treatment for opioid addiction should be a combination of behavioral and pharmacological treatments. Naltrexone, methadone and buprenorphine also play a role in treatment for opioid addiction.
The current study involved 163 adults between the ages of 18 and 65, who were diagnosed with an opioid addiction between 2007 and 2008. In the study, four buprenorphine delivery devices were implanted under the skin of one arm in 108 patients. Each buprenorphine device was calibrated to slowly release 80 milligrams of the drug. The remaining 55 patients in the study received implants with a placebo drug. None of the patients in the study received buprenorphine by mouth. During the six months that the patients were enrolled in the study, they received intensive drug counseling.
