Recent Findings on Buphrenophine and Opiate Addiction
Buphrenophine implanted under the skin helped people addicted to opiate drugs, including heroin and prescription drugs such as OxyContin and morphine, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
In this study 163 people ages 18 to 63 years old who had been abusing opiate drugs were given either a placebo or a time-released dose of buphrenorphine. The ones on buphrenorphine were more likely to stay clear of using drugs and experienced fewer withdrawal symptoms.
A second study found that women who are addicted to heroin often substitute methadone during their pregnancies in order to protect their unborn children from complications such as prematurity and stillbirth. Now a new study from Johns Hopkins University found that buphrenophine may work better than methadone.
Researchers found that although the babies born to women substituting buphrenophine for heroin during pregnancy underwent withdrawal from the drug, they suffered less than babies born to mothers using heroin or methadone. The mothers using buphrenophine had shorter hospitalizations after deliveries, and were less likely to need morphine to help them through their own drug withdrawal periods.
This study appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine.