Hyperalgesia is a common clinical phenomenon among opioid dependent patients on methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) and it may be associated with undertreated pain and/or therapeutic failure. This study aimed to investigate association between serum methadone concentration (SMC) and cold pressor pain responses. Cold pressor pain responses in 147 opioid dependent patients on MMT were assessed us...

cardiovascular effects of opioid withdrawal have long been studied. it was reported that patients with underlying ischemic heart disease and atherosclerotic vessels may be complicated by a sudden physical and emotional stress due to withdrawal syndrome. but some other believes sudden increase in catecholamine level as a sympathetic overflow might effect on heart with and without underlying isch...

Background: Methadone is currently the most frequently used substance in the treatment of short-term and particularly long-term opiate dependence. Patients' beliefs about the adverse effects of methadone on function of organs, especially liver, have widely affected the use of this substance. This study aimed to determine the effects of methadone on liver enzyme levels in patients on methadone m...

Radioimmunoassay was compared to thin-layer and gas--liquid chromatographic methods for detection of methadone in the urine of patients undergoing methadone maintenance therapy as treatment of heroin abuse. With urine samples known to contain methadone, 84% were positive by thin-layer chromatography as compared to 99% positives by the other two methods. This difference is attributed to the diff...

based on findings of previous studies, those men on methadone maintenance therapy (mmt) have a high prevalence of erectile dysfunction(ed), related to hypogonadism and depression. we conducted this study to evaluate the efficacy of trazodone (an antidepressant which can improve sexual function) on this sexual dysfunction.a structured interview was administered by the clinical staff. the intervi...

BACKGROUND Agonist maintenance therapy with methadone is amongst the preferred remedies for treating opioid dependence and is increasingly supported by the regional governments in this part of the world. In this study we have investigated the clinical manifestations and factors affecting the outcome of therapy in patients with methadone poisoning in a Middle-Eastern (Iranian) referral tertiary ...

In France, during the 1990s, there have been some rapid developments in the treatment of opioid addiction with the introduction of legal substitution agents. Originally, some patients were treated with morphine sulfate, but this was superseded by high dose buprenorphine (Subutex(R)) and methadone. This resulted in those patients originally treated with morphine being transferred to either of th...

AIMS Evaluation of the efficacy and safety of slow-release oral morphine (SROM) compared with methadone for detoxification from methadone and SROM maintenance treatment. DESIGN Randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, comparative multi-centre study with parallel groups. SETTING Three psychiatric hospitals in Austria specializing in in-patient detoxification. PARTICIPANTS Male and female op...

BACKGROUND Opiate dependence is a major health and social issue in many countries. A mainstay of therapy has been methadone maintenance treatment, but other treatments, particularly buprenorphine, are increasingly being considered. AIM To conduct a systematic review to synthesise and critically appraise the evidence on the effectiveness of community maintenance programmes with methadone or bu...