Monday, August 17, 1998

Hopkins Study Shows Languishing Addictions Drug Really Works

ScienceDaily (Aug. 17, 1998) — A longer-acting alternative to methadone that never quite caught on following its FDA approval in 1993 may now greatly increase the number of addicts who stick with treatment, thanks to a new Johns Hopkins study.

The study suggests better ways of taking LAAM (levomethadyl acetate hydrochloride), a drug similar to methadone in its capacity to discourage heroin use and block withdrawal symptoms. However, unlike methadone, which addicts must use daily, LAAM can be taken three times a week, making it far more convenient and potentially less expensive.

LAAM isn't widely used, because of both uncertainties about how effective it is in the first stages of addiction treatment and doubts that it would be accepted by addicts. Earlier this year, for example, only about 3,000 U.S. patients were getting the drug.

Click here to read entire article at Science Daily.com