Anti-heroin drug buprenorphine is best for helping addicts: study

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2008

PARIS (AFP) — The drug buprenorphine is twice as effective as a rival treatment called naltrexone in helping heroin patients stay off the narcotic, a trial published in The Lancet on Friday said.

The two drugs, along with a dummy pill called a placebo, were tested for 22 months among 126 patients in Malaysia who had emerged from a detoxification and counselling programme, it said.

Buprenorphine, which is marketed as Temgesic or Buprenex, was twice as effective as naltrexone (branded as Revia, Depade or Vivitrol) and the placebo in terms of days of abstinence from heroin and a full-fledged relapse to the narcotic.

Indeed, buprenorphine proved to be so superior that the trial was halted early, as it would have been unethical to continue it to its scheduled...