For the first time, a large-scale national study is planned to evaluate treatment options for addiction to prescription painkillers, opioid analgesics such as Vicodin and OxyContin. The Prescription Opiate Addiction Treatment Study is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and will be conducted at 11 sites throughout the United States.

The study will enroll 648 participants who take prescription drugs for chronic pain and have become addicted to them or those who abuse painkillers for nonmedical reasons.

Suboxone Effectiveness Tested

Specifically, the study will test the effectiveness of Suboxone, a combination of two FDA approved treatments for opioid addiction, buprenorphine and naloxone. Buprenorphine relieves drug cravings without the same intense "high" or dangerous side effects.

When combined with naloxone, buprenorphine abuse potential is reduced. Soboxone will cause severe withdrawal symptoms if someone injects it to get high, but has no adverse side effects if taken orally as prescribed, by placing the tablets under the tongue.

"The abuse of prescription opiates continues to be unacceptably high, producing steep increases in emergency room admissions," said NIH Director Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni, in a news release. "This trial is part of our ongoing commitment to develop better treatment approaches for drug abuse and addiction, so devastating to millions of Americans and their families."

The study also plans to compare the effectiveness of different behavioral therapies in conjunction with Suboxone. Half the subjects will be placed in an intensive individualized drug counseling program, while the other half will receive a brief drug counseling session from their doctors.

The Risk of Addiction

"This study is important because most of the research to date has been done on treatment for those addicted to heroin not prescription pain medications," said Roger Weiss, MD, clinical director of McLean's Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment Center and lead investigator for the study. "It also isn't clear whether people who started taking these medications for legitimate reasons will respond to the same treatment in the same way as those who use pain medications solely on an illicit basis."

"Opioid analgesics were designed to help people in pain, and we want to be sure that those who require them for legitimate reasons can continue to effectively manage their pain," said NIDA Director Dr. Nora D. Volkow. "However, we must also recognize the risk of addiction to pain medications and develop treatments for those who become addicted to them. This trial is an important first step in reaching that goal."

More Information:

• E.R. Visits Up for Prescription Drug Abuse
  
• Pain-Killer Abuse Increasing Among Older Adults
  
• Prescription Opioid Addiction Treatment Study

^{Photo: Suboxone.com}