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I have an exciting email from NIDA, there new
recommendation for treatment of young adults.
Read below:::
-Original Message----- From: NIH news releases
and news items [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of NIH OLIB
(NIH/OD) Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 2008 4:22 PM To: [email protected] Subject: EXTENDED
SUBOXONE TREATMENT SUBSTANTIALLY IMPROVES OUTCOMES FOR OPIOID-ADDICTED YOUNG
ADULTS
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services NATIONAL
INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIH News National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
<http://www.nida.nih.gov/>Embargoed for
Release: Tuesday, November 4, 2008, 4:00 p.m. EST
CONTACT: Dorie
Hightower or Stephanie Older, 301-443-6245, <e-mail: [email protected]>
EXTENDED SUBOXONE TREATMENT SUBSTANTIALLY IMPROVES OUTCOMES
FOR OPIOID-ADDICTED YOUNG ADULTS Preferable to Detox and Standard Counseling
Alone
In the first clinical trial of a medication that was used for an
extended time to treat opioid addiction in young adults, participants who
received counseling and Suboxone (buprenorphine-naloxone) for 12 weeks had
substantially better outcomes than those who received the standard treatment of
short-term detoxification and counseling. The study, published November 5 in the
"Journal of the American Medical Association," was conducted through the
National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network supported by the National
Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Opioids include heroin, morphine and prescription pain killers such as Vicodin
and Oxycontin.
Opioid-addicted youth who continued to take Suboxone for
12 weeks were less likely to use opioids, cocaine and marijuana, to inject
drugs, or drop out of treatment than those who received short-term
detoxification and counseling.
"These findings should reassure and
encourage providers who have been hesitant to offer extended Suboxone treatment
to this population," said NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow. "They also highlight
the need for longer-term studies to determine whether sustained treatment can
improve outcomes."
Suboxone is a medication containing buprenorphine and
naloxone, combined in a single tablet. Buprenorphine -- which has been used
successfully as a treatment for heroin addiction -- works by acting on the
brain's opiate receptors to relieve withdrawal and cravings without prompting
the same intense high or dangerous side effects as other opioids. When combined
with naloxone, buprenorphine's abuse potential is further limited because people
who try to inject it experience severe withdrawal symptoms. However, when
Suboxone is taken orally, as prescribed, these adverse effects do not
occur.
For this study, investigators recruited 154 opioid-addicted
patients aged 15 to 21 at six outpatient substance abuse treatment clinics
around the country. Patients had been addicted to opioids for an average of 1.5
years. All participants were offered group and individual counseling for 12
weeks. In addition, participants were randomly assigned to either 2 weeks of
detoxification using Suboxone or 12 weeks of extended Suboxone treatment. In the
latter group, the daily dose of Suboxone was gradually tapered downward starting
at week 9 and the drug was discontinued at week 12.
Participants assigned
to extended Suboxone treatment were much less likely to provide opioid-positive
urine samples at weeks 4 and 8, but not at week 12 (when the dose had tapered
off) than those in the standard detoxification group. Follow-up evaluations at
months 6, 9 and 12 showed increased rates of opioid use in both groups compared
to the end of the treatment period; however, rates of opioid use were somewhat
lower in both groups than they were before treatment, particularly in the
extended-treatment group. Although patients were young, findings resembled those
of older adults with longer term opioid dependence.
"We saw a marked
reduction in opioid and other drug use; less injecting behavior, and better
treatment retention in the patients assigned to longer-term Suboxone treatment,"
says principal investigator George Woody, M.D., of the University of
Pennsylvania and Treatment Research Institute, and VA Medical Center in
Philadelphia.
"Extended use of Suboxone appeared to effectively control
study participants' symptoms of opioid withdrawal," says co-investigator Geetha
Subramaniam, M.D., of Johns Hopkins University, who oversaw patients enrolled in
the study at a substance abuse treatment clinic in Baltimore. "The teens and
young adults readily accepted Suboxone and tolerated it well. They seldom
complained about sedation [a side effect of methadone and other medications for
opioid dependence] and were pleased that they remained alert and could function
during the day."
Buprenorphine is listed as a Schedule III controlled
drug by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. It is considered to have less
risk of causing dependence than Schedule II drugs such as methadone, morphine,
and oxycodone. Subutex (buprenorphine) and Suboxone are the first medications
available for the treatment of opioid dependence that can be prescribed in a
doctor's office by specially trained and licensed physicians. Suboxone was
approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2002 for the treatment of
opioid dependence.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse is a component of
the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
NIDA supports most of the world's research on the health aspects of drug abuse
and addiction. The Institute carries out a large variety of programs to inform
policy and improve practice. Fact sheets on the health effects of drugs of abuse
and information on NIDA research and other activities can be found on the NIDA
web site at <http://www.drugabuse.gov>.
The National
Institutes of Health (NIH) -- The Nation's Medical Research Agency -- includes
27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and
supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it
investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare
diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit <www.nih.gov>.
##
This NIH News Release is available online
at: <http://www.nih.gov/news/health/nov2008/nida-04.htm>.
To subscribe (or unsubscribe) from this list, go
to <http://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=nihpress
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HOLY CRAP! I can't believe that you posted this, darling! I started suboxone treatment on May 30, 2008. For the last 6 months or so, I have been doing SO WELL that it is like I am a WHOLE NEW PERSON. I am loving, productive, active, positive, and so, so happy! I plan to take suboxone for the next year to 2 years. I am slowly weaning under a doctor's supervision. This doctor specializes in suboxone treatment at a clinic. In the past, I have tried: - "Dry" Rehab (no methadone, suboxone, clonopin or other drugs to help with withdrawal and abuse) - NA and AA Meetings, WITH sponsor and WHILE working the STEPS vigorously - Church of various kinds (Catholic, Non-Denominational, Unitarian, Others) - Exercise (Running, Swimming, Team Sports, Horse-back Riding) - Diets (High-Protein, Low-Fat, Low-Carb, High-Fiber, Special Vitamin Diets) - Smoking - NOT Smoking - Drinking - NOT Drinking - Relationships - Anything you can think of FINALLY, I found out about suboxone treatment. For the past 6 months, I have NOT USED ONCE and, better yet, I HAVE NOT WANTED TO USE!!! I am HAPPILY dating, working full-time, under-taking various activities that I enjoy with great people - I am popular, happy, fulfilled and NORMAL. I couldn't be happier! I am NOT saying that everyone has to live like me to be happy - but dammit, I have to live like me to be happy, and I am! I have tapered one-half of a pill, and plan on continuing to taper until I am completely done. On my birthday in December, I am starting the patch and quitting smoking as well. I AM NOT DRINKING, EVER. PERIOD. Soon, I will be nicotine- and opiod-free!!! I'm not scared to think this, either. When it happens, I will be READY. I highly recommend suboxone treatment for those who have tried all else, and failed! LOVE SUGAR_SCAR |
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((((((SugarScar)))) Im sitting here with a huge smile on my face. Ive heard story after story just like you and its so hopeful. Next year the drug goes generic so that will make a huge difference also. I was on subutex for 14 months and i felt awesome on sub also. When you start to wean off email me [email protected] its kind of tricky and takes alot of patience.. Sugar, dont go off of it unless your absoluetly postive you can and there will be no risk of relapse. I know people who have been on it since the drug came out 6 yrs with no problem, so thats an option too. I wish you all the luck in the world, you ROCK girl, Love Karen |
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