The molecular nature and configuration of the opiate receptor is a problem under intensive investigation in a number of laboratories (1,2,3). Our interest in the problem developed as a result of a finding of others (4) that a proteolipid fraction from brain may be responsible for stereospecific opiate binding observed in various preparations of brain tissue. Upon examining various lipids, prote...

BACKGROUND Hepatitis C virus infection is highly prevalent among people who inject drugs. Opioid substitution therapy, the standard treatment for opioid dependence, provides an excellent opportunity for the treatment of hepatitis C virus infection due to the close and regular contact between patients and clinicians. However, there is little research on the impact of opioid substitution therapy ...

Objectives: This study presents the comparative safety and side effect profiles of buprenorphine and methadone, including gender relationships, from a clinical trial comparing buprenorphine and methadone in the outpatient treatment of opioid dependence. Methods: One hundred sixty-four opioid dependent volunteers age 18–50 years were randomized to buprenorphine (n = 84) or to methadone (n = 80) ...

Methadone is widely being used for opioid substitution therapy. However, the administration of methadone to opioid dependent individual is frequently accompanied by withdrawal syndrome and chemical dependency develops. Other than that, it is also difficult to retain patients in the treatment programme making their retention rates are decreasing over time. This article is written to higlights th...

We have found opiate receptors enriched in two distinct subcellular fractions obtained from rat brain cellfree homogenates. By several criteria, one fraction contains synaptic plasma membranes, while the other represents predominantly smooth microsomes. Using marker enzyme analysis, we determined that the occurrence of opiate receptors in the smooth microsomal fraction cannot be attributed to ...

BACKGROUND There are an estimated 40,000 to 90,000 injection opiate users in Canada. The social, economic and health consequences of opiate addiction have been well documented. However, there are no data on the self-perceived health status of opiate users in Canada. Therefore, the goal of this research is to gain an understanding of the self-perceived health status of opiate users by comparing ...

As the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, glutamate plays an undisputable integral role in opiate addiction. This relates, in part, to the fact that addiction is a disorder of learning and memory, and glutamate is required for most types of memory formation. As opiate addiction develops, the addict becomes conditioned to engage in addictive behaviors, and these behaviors can be tri...

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to provide a preliminary assessment of the safety, tolerability, symptom control, and acceptability of buprenorphine-naloxone buccal film (BBN) for the maintenance treatment of opioid dependence in patients converted from buprenorphine-naloxone sublingual tablet or film (SLBN), as well as to determine the conversion ratio for switching patients from SLBN to...

BACKGROUND Opioids are psychoactive analgesic drugs prescribed for pain relief and palliative care. Due to their addictive potential, effort and vigilance in controlling prescriptions is needed to avoid misuse and dependence. Despite the effort, the prevalence of opioid use disorder continues to rise. Opioid substitution therapies are commonly used to treat opioid dependence; however, there is ...