Posts Tagged ‘methadone maintenance treatment’

Predictors of Diabetes Mellitus and Abnormal Blood Glucose in Patients Receiving Opioid Maintenance Treatment.

Am J Addict. 2013 Jul; 22(4): 411-416
Fareed A, Byrd-Sellers J, Vayalapalli S, Drexler K, Phillips L

Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist and may have less impact on the risk of developing diabetes mellitus (DM) compared to full opioid agonists like methadone.We conducted an observational retrospective study to investigate the predictable factors for impaired glucose tolerance and predisposition to DM in two groups of opiate addicts receiving long-term methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) [n?=?58] or buprenorphine maintenance treatment (BMT) [n?=?61].In our cohort, being African American, hepatitis C positive status, elevated AST, and ALT, and being on methadone were significantly correlated to being diagnosed with DM. Among all those factors, being on methadone was most significantly related to being diagnosed with DM (?(2) ?=?3.9888, p-value?=?.0458). The BMI was the only factor that was significantly correlated to having abnormal A1c level (?(2) ?=?6.4229, p-value?=?.0113).Buprenorphine may be less likely to contribute to the development of DM than methadone. More research is needed to understand the link between opioids and DM. (Am J Addict 2013;22:411-416).
HubMed – Methadone

Methadone program should be expanded: addictions doctor – The Guardian Charlottetown

Methadone program should be expanded: addictions doctor The Guardian Charlottetown Dr. Don Ling, medical director of the P.E.I Methadone Maintenance Treatment Program, prepares to speak during a brienfing of the standing committee on health, social development and seniors chair. Published on June 25, 2013: Published on June 25, 2013 …

Methadone Treatment – Google News

Revealed: Feeding addict prisoners heroin substitute methadone is costing … – Scottish Daily Record

Revealed: Feeding addict prisoners heroin substitute methadone is costing … Scottish Daily Record The Scottish Government said: “Substitute prescribing such as methadone is one of a number of methods of drug treatment in a package of care, treatment and recovery that can be offered to individuals – including prisoners – to help them recover from … and more »

Methadone Treatment – Google News

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Methadone program should be expanded: addictions doctor – The Guardian Charlottetown

The Guardian Charlottetown

Methadone program should be expanded: addictions doctor The Guardian Charlottetown Dr. Don Ling, medical director of the P.E.I Methadone Maintenance Treatment Program, prepares to speak during a brienfing of the standing committee on health, social development and seniors chair. Published on June 25, 2013: Published on June 25, 2013 …

Methadone Treatment – Google News

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Categorising methadone: Addiction and analgesia.

Int J Drug Policy. 2013 Jun 11;
Keane H

While methadone was first developed as an analgesic, and used for this purpose before it was adopted as a therapy for drug dependence, it is this latter use which has saturated its identity. Most of the literature and commentary on methadone discusses it in the context of methadone maintenance therapy (MMT). But one of the effects of the liberalization of opiate prescription for chronic pain which took place in the 1990s was the re-emergence of methadone as a painkiller. This article examines the relationship between methadone the painkiller and methadone the addiction treatment as it is constituted in recent medical research literature and treatment guidelines. It highlights the way medical discourse separates methadone into two substances with different effects depending on the problem that is being treated. Central to this separation is the classification of patients into addicts and non-addicts; and pain sufferers and non-pain sufferers. The article argues that despite this work of making and maintaining distinctions, the similarities in the way methadone is used and acts in these different medical contexts complicates these categories. The difficulties of keeping the ‘two methadones’ separate becomes most apparent in cases of MMT patients also being treated for chronic pain.
HubMed – Methadone

Methadone maintenance treatment and cognitive function: A systematic review.

Curr Drug Abuse Rev. 2013 Jun 14;
Wang GY, Wouldes TA, Russell BB

Methadone has been used as a pharmacotherapy for the treatment of opiate dependence since the mid-1960s. Many studies examining the benefits of methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) for opiate dependence have documented a significant reduction in both criminal behavior and the use of other opiates. Nevertheless, emerging evidence suggests that MMT may impair cognitive function. However, it is unclear as to the part methadone dose, duration of MMT or plasma level may play in any observed deficits. Given the large number of people enrolled in MMT world-wide and the potential for deficits in cognitive function, a systematic review of the research investigating the association between MMT and cognitive function seemed warranted. The following databases were searched with a combination of free-text and thesaurus terms (methadone AND cognition): MEDLINE In-Process, EMBASE, PsycINFO and EBM Reviews-Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Seventy-eight articles were retrieved of which 35 met the inclusion criteria. The majority of research suggests that MMT is associated with impaired cognitive function and that deficits extended across a range of domains. However, caution is required when interpreting these results due to the methodological limitations associated with many studies. Further research that includes a combination of psychological and physiological measures within well-controlled group comparison studies is required to more accurately assess which cognitive domains are affected.
HubMed – Methadone

Buprenorphine Use in Pregnant Opioid Users: A Critical Review.

CNS Drugs. 2013 Jun 18;
Soyka M

Pregnancy in opioid users poses a number of problems to treating physicians. Most guidelines recommend maintenance treatment to manage opioid addiction in pregnancy, with methadone being the gold standard. More recently, buprenorphine has been discussed as an alternate medication. The use and efficacy of buprenorphine in pregnancy is still controversial. This article reviews the current database on the basis of a detailed and critical literature search performed in MEDLINE (206 counts). Most of the relevant studies (randomised clinical trials and one national cohort sample) were published in the last 2 years and mainly compared buprenorphine with methadone. Some studies are related to maternal outcomes, others to foetal, neonatal or older child outcomes. With respect to maternal outcomes, most studies suggest that buprenorphine has similar effects to methadone. Very few data from small studies discuss an effect of buprenorphine on neurodevelopment of the foetus. Neonatal abstinence syndrome is common in infants of both buprenorphine- and methadone-maintained mothers. As regards neonatal outcomes, buprenorphine has the same clinical outcome as methadone, although some newer studies suggest that it causes fewer withdrawal symptoms. Since hardly any studies have investigated the combination of buprenorphine with naloxone (which has been suggested to possibly have teratogenic effects) in pregnant women, a switch to buprenorphine monotherapy is recommended in women who become pregnant while receiving the combination product. These novel findings indicate that buprenorphine is emerging as a first-line treatment for pregnant opioid users.
HubMed – Methadone