Pharmacological Treatment of Opioid Addiction

The inappropriate or illegal use and abuse of narcotics such as heroin is a major problem in many countries. Hence, various strategies have been employed to treat people who are addicted to heroin and other opioids. Methadone is the primary pharmacological intervention used to treat opioid addiction. Methadone is a strong opioid agonist, similar in potency and efficacy to morphine. While giving an opioid to treat an opi- 

SECTION 4 Drugs Used to Treat Pain and Inflammation 

Recently, buprenorphine has been advocated as an alternative pharmacological method for treating opioid 

efforts continue to provide more effective pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions for treating opioid addiction.41 As more infor- 

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Lobmaier P, Gossop M, Waal H, Bramness J. The pharmacological treatment of opioid addiction—a clinical perspective. Eur J Clin Pharmacol 2010 66 537-45. 

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