Researchers believe they may have found the first drug treatment for addiction to methods, an important step toward the increase in overdose deaths seen over the past few years.
A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday found that a combination of two drugs could be a safe and effective treatment for adults with moderate or severe methamphetamine use.
The Phase Three clinical study studied the effects of the combination of Naltrexone, approved for the treatment of alcohol and opioid use disorders, and Wellbutrin, an antidepressant, on adults with moderate or severe methamphetamine use. It compared the effects with a control group of patients receiving placebos.
Patients who received the drug combination responded at a significantly higher rate than those in the control group and reported fewer urges and improvements in their lives.
Unlike other drug use disorders, there is no approved medication treatment for the use of methamphetamine.
“We are very excited about the results because so far there have been no successful trials for the treatment of methamphetamine addiction involving medicines,” said Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, who conducted the trial.
“More and more we are seeing people die from methamphetamine,” Volkow added. ‘There is a deep concern about the fact that they can not treat medicines like we have for the opioid disorder that can help prevent people from dying due to the use of methamphetamine. ”
Dose overdose has been increasing for decades, with public attention mostly on opioid deaths. But experts are increasingly concerned about the recent increase in deaths due to stimulants, including meth and cocaine. More than 16,000 people died in 2019 from method-related overdoses, a tenfold increase in 2009. The increase in deaths is likely due in part to a more powerful method coming from Mexico and using fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, 50 up to 100 times more powerful. as morphine.
Experts are concerned that the pandemic is exacerbating the problem, with more people referring to meth, returning to treatment and overdosing.
‘We know that there were researchers in the field and patient groups on the one hand an increase in drug use associated with the COVID pandemic, and on the other hand an increase in people who relapse, and an increase in mortality during the pandemic. of overdoses, ”Volkow said.
The results of the new study are a sign of hope, Volkow said.
The study showed that 16.5 percent of the patients who received the drug combination responded to the treatment compared to the 3.4 percent of the patients in the control group who received placebos.
When screened a few weeks later, 11.4 percent of the treatment group responded to the treatment, compared with 1.8 percent of the control group.
Although the numbers seem low, addiction is difficult to treat, and the combination of medications is just as effective in treating disorders as the use of medications other than alcohol addiction.
Volkow said the next step would be to ask the Food and Drug Administration to approve the drugs for the treatment of methamphetamine so that it is covered by insurance plans. Doctors can already prescribe the drug combination to patients with use disorder, but insurance plans cannot cover it if it is not approved by the FDA.
“Finally, a meditation that can help improve outcomes and help people be sober and recovering,” Volkow said.