Main results The buprenorphine group had better treatment retention than controls at day 8 and day 35 (see table). The buprenorphine group also reported fewer days’ heroin use during withdrawal (3 v 5 days control) and in the post-withdrawal period (9 v 15 days control). No severe adverse events were reported. Conclusions Buprenorphine is safe and effective for short-term ambulatory heroin with...

RATIONALE Acute doses of buprenorphine can precipitate withdrawal in opioid dependent persons. The likelihood of this withdrawal increases as a function of the level of physical dependence. OBJECTIVES To test the acute effects of sublingual buprenorphine/naloxone tablets in volunteers with a higher level of physical dependence. The goal was to identify a dose that would precipitate withdrawal...

OBJECTIVE Both methadone and buprenorphine are effective therapy for heroin dependence. Efficacy is best documented for methadone maintenance therapy, but safety concerns limit its use. Buprenorphine offers lower overdose risk and improved access, but efficacy may be lower. The authors compared adaptive, buprenorphine-based stepped care to optimal methadone maintenance treatment. METHOD This ...

The recent approval of office-based treatment for opioid addiction and US Food and Drug Administration approval of buprenorphine will expand treatment options for opioid addiction. Buprenorphine is classified as a partial micro opioid agonist and a weak kappa antagonist. It has a high affinity for the micro receptor, with slow dissociation resulting in a long duration of action and an analgesic...

OBJECTIVE Buprenophrine is a synthetic opioid with micro-agonist properties currently pending Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval as a maintenance agent for treating heroin-addicted individuals. Unlike methadone, a widely used opioid maintenance agent, buprenorphine is a kappa-receptor antagonist. Research linking the effects of acupuncture to the release of dynorphin, the endogenous li...

Opiate dependence among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients has been associated with negative clinical outcomes, yet few affected patients receive appropriate and coordinated treatment for both conditions. The introduction of buprenorphine maintenance therapy into HIV care settings provides an opportunity for providers to integrate treatment for opiate dependence into their pra...

The use of heroin in Australia results in disproportionate harm. Although the evidence suggests that a relatively low proportion of the population aged 14 years and over have ever used (1.4%) heroin or have used it in the past 12 months (0.2%), heroin use remains a significant cause of death, injury, illness and social harm. Research demonstrates that being in treatment leads to less heroin use...

Buprenorphine has been shown to be an effective analgesic agent. In this trial buprenorphine was found as an effective analgesic agent in most of surgical emergencies; same was true for post operative cases. The duration of analgesia in this study was found to be nearly 8 hours as compared with morphine which was 5-1/2 hours. In another study after operations (Royll and Versichelas, 1976) the d...

Background: Buprenorphine, a partial agonist of the mu-opioid receptor, is an increasingly prescribed medication for maintenance treatment opioid use disorder. When this taken in context active use, precipitated withdrawal can occur, leading to acute onset symptoms. Fentanyl complicates buprenorphine, as it slowly releases from body stores and lead higher risk withdr...

Previous work in our laboratory showed that the recommended oral dose of buprenorphine (0.5 mg/kg) was not as effective as the standard therapeutic subcutaneous dose for postoperative analgesia in male Long-Evans (hooded) and Sprague-Dawley (albino) rats. The aim of the current study was to extend this analysis to female rats. We measured the pain threshold in adult female rats in diestrus or p...