Meth is no Joke in Austin TX: Experts Warn of Increased Overdose

A double-blind, placebo-controlled study in the U.S. has found drug therapy effective for patients with meth addiction. This is welcome news for those who work with the growing number of people struggling with meth addiction and the potential use of the drug as a treatment.

The study was published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine by researchers from the University of California, San Diego, and the National Institute on Drug Addiction. That is a significant advance, "said study co-author Dr. David L. Miller, who is funded by the National Institute on Drug Addiction, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the drug for use in meth for use with meth, similar to opioids, where drug-assisted treatment is standard. The study involved treating more than 1,000 people in the U.S. who suffered from methamphetamine disorder with a combination of naltrexone, Bupropion, and placebo for 12 weeks. The treatment helped 13.4% of addicted patients with their addiction, compared to 2.5% in a placebo group.

Although a success rate of only 11% does not sound like a foregone conclusion, Volkow points out that other drugs used to treat brain disorders, including those with mental illness and addiction, often have similar response rates in patients. Drug therapy offers doctors a tool with which patients can try it, but it is not a cure - anything.

Once you understand the complexity of the human brain, it becomes very magical to believe that a pill will solve the addiction problem, "he said. The findings should give new hope to people struggling with disorders such as methamphetamine use, said lead researcher Dr. Ravi Trivedi, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles. Tri Vedi said in a statement, patients who are struggling with methadone use disorders should talk to their doctors and treat them to consider trying this option. This study could change the treatment landscape for the roughly 1.6 million Americans addicted to methamphetamine, say psychologists who study addiction therapy at UCLA but were not involved in the study.

However, so far, "we have been left empty-handed in terms of our understanding of the long-term effects of methadone and other drugs on addiction," Ray said.

He believes the clinical trial represents a real breakthrough because "there have been so many failed trials" and because there is no data on the long-term effects of methadone.

The treatment in the study combined two drugs studied: Bupropion, which is commonly used to treat depression, and naltrexone. Patients received two doses of Bupropion (buprenorphine), an opioid receptor - which releases a more extended-release - or naloxone, and a combination of methadone and Bupropion. NaltRexone is already used in treating opioid addiction and has been shown to reduce cravings in some patients.

However, the researchers say it is not entirely clear why the drugs work in tandem. One theory is that naltrexone reduces physiological cravings for meth. Simultaneously, the antidepressant effect of Bupropion eases the anxiety people feel when they stop taking meth. Without Meith addiction treatment Austin TX, this emotional strain can trigger relapses and cause relapses.

Ray says the naltrexone-bupropion combination's success rate could improve if doctors refine the method. Other treatments, including behavioral therapy, support it. Meanwhile, he predicts that doctors who help people recover will start treatment immediately. The clinical trial is so successful that Volkow of the National Institute on Drug Addiction says he expects it to move toward FDA approval. Volkov says doctors need to know the safety and efficacy of the drug and its side effects before they can prescribe it to their patients.

According to the National Institute on Drug Addiction and Mental Health, the study showed no significant side effects, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

A new strategy for medical treatment comes when methamphetamine addiction, fueled by cheap imports from Mexico, is reviving. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, seizures of meth along the southwestern border with Mexico have more than doubled in the past five years, from 1.5 million pounds in 2010 to 2.2 million in 2015. There is no doubt that methamphetamine is falling out of the sky, whether the amount is coming across the border by boat or plane, "said Dr. John Donahue, director of the National Institute on Drug Addiction and Mental Health. The effort has not affected the number of drug treatment options offered at the federal government's Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) office in Washington, D.C.. However, he acknowledged that it has not affected their supply.