BACKGROUND Levomethadyl acetate, methadone hydrochloride, and buprenorphine hydrochloride are equally effective treatments for opioid dependence. Each blocks the human ether-a-go-go-related gene (hERG)-associated channel in vitro and represents a risk for QT prolongation. To compare the effects of 3 known hERG-associated channel blockers on the corrected QT (QTc), we conducted a randomized, con...

background and aims: sexual dysfunction is a common complaint among drug abusers in the treatment with methadone and buprenorphine. the aim of this study was to assess sexual dysfunction in patients undergoing methadone or buprenorphine for maintenance therapy. methods: this research was a cross-sectional study. a 3-parts questionnaire (demographic questions, international index of erectile fun...

conclusions physicians involved in care of methadone patients should recommend dietary and lifestyle changes to improve their overall health. results within one year from admission to treatment, a statistically significant (t-tests, p < 0.05) increase was noted in their body mass index (bmi), % of body fat, average body mass, and average basal metabolic rate, and relative decrease in their % of...

BACKGROUND Although multimorbidity has important implications for patient care in general practice, limited research has examined chronic illness and health service utilisation among problem drug users. This study aimed to determine chronic illness prevalence and health service utilisation among problem drug users attending primary care for methadone treatment, to compare these rates with match...

BACKGROUND Methadone is a synthetic opioid and receptor agonist morphine; thus, its consumption has the effects and side effects of opioid. Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) is used as an alternative treatment for people who are suffering from substance abuse and do not have the ability to withdraw. Despite its benefits, this drug also has side effects. The purpose of this study was to inve...

BACKGROUND Opioid agonist therapy using methadone, an effective treatment of opioid use disorders (OUD) for people who inject drugs (PWID), is recommended by the World Health Organization as essential to curtail the growing HIV epidemic. Yet, despite increasing prevalence of OUD and HIV, methadone therapy has not yet been implemented in Russia. The aim of this modeling study was to estimate the...

BACKGROUND We sought to test the effectiveness of methadone and buprenorphine in the treatment of methamphetamine withdrawal craving over a 17-day treatment period. METHODS Patients were randomized into one of two groups. The study sample comprised 40 male subjects dependent on methamphetamine who met criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, for me...

BACKGROUND Intravenous drug misuse, principally heroin, occurs primarily in the Greater Dublin area. Methadone maintenance treatment has been an important part of the response to opiate misuse in Dublin since 1992. AIMS To determine the number of opiate-related deaths in Dublin City and County during 1999, to establish the number of methadone-related deaths and determine the proportion of dea...

  Background: Today, an increasing trend to methadone as an alternative maintenance treatment for opiate dependence in adults is observed; children for both intentional and accidental reasons are exposed to serious and fetal effects of methadone. We aimed to investigate effects of methadone on children and sexual functioning among adults in Iranian popula...

UNLABELLED Methadone is one of the most popular synthetic opioids in the world with some favorable properties making it useful both in the treatment of moderate to severe pain and for opioid addiction. Increased use of methadone has resulted in an increased prevalence of its toxicity, one aspect of which is cardiotoxicity. In this paper, we review the effects of methadone on the heart as well a...