NIDA Notes Articles: Heroin

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Animal Research Advances Effort to Develop Vaccines Against Cocaine, Heroin Abuse

September 2012
New vaccines aim to promote recovery from cocaine and heroin abuse showed promise in animal testing. Both vaccines induced rats’ immune system to produce high titers of antibodies that inhibit the target drug from reaching the brain. The rats’ behaviors when given access to the target drug indicated that the vaccines reduced the reinforcing effects that, in recovering people, can cause lapses to turn into relapses.

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More Convenient Preparations of Buprenorphine Pass Test

July 2012
Soluble-film preparations of buprenorphine suppressed heroin abusers’ withdrawal symptoms with no serious side effects in a recent clinical trial. They dissolved more rapidly in the mouth than the pill form of the medication, providing faster relief.

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Buprenorphine During Pregnancy Reduces Neonate Distress

July 2012
Sublingual buprenorphine is a safe and effective alternative to methadone for treating opioid dependence during pregnancy, finds the Maternal Opioid Treatment: Human Experimental Research (MOTHER) study, a NIDA-supported clinical trial. Women who received either medication had similar pregnancy and birth outcomes, but infants born to women who received buprenorphine had milder symptoms of neonatal opioid withdrawal.

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Program Helps Troubled Boys Reduce Substance Abuse

December 2011
Chronically delinquent boys in Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care reduced their substance abuse more than boys assigned to Community Group Care.

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Prison Use of Medications for Opioid Addiction Remains Low

July 2011
Describes results from a nationwide survey among correctional facilities on the use of opioid replacement therapy for people who are addicted to heroin.

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Detoxification Services and Pharmacotherapies Lacking in Nation's Jails and Prisons

December 2010
Reports findings from a survey that revealed that although substance abuse is prevalent in jails and prisons, many correctional facilities do not offer detoxification services or therapies to aid in maintaining abstinence.

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Medications That Normalize Brain Glutamate Reduce Drug-Seeking in Rats

October 2010
Reports on two studies that demonstrate the promise of treating addiction with medications that alleviate drug-induced alterations in signaling by the neurotransmitter glutamate.

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Anticipation of Methadone Enhances Brain Reactivity to Heroin Cues

December 2009
Describes findings of a study revealing that images of heroin preparation and injection can incite craving and excite brain areas associated with reward-seeking even in methadone-maintained patients.

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Naltrexone via Skin Patch Proves Effectiveness of New Technology

November 2009
Reports on a new device that creates tiny painless punctures in the skin to allow medication to flow evenly from a skin patch into dermal capillaries and the bloodstream.

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Patch Delivers Buprenorphine for Heroin Detox

November 2009
Describes research on the effectiveness of a buprenorphine patch to alleviate opioid withdrawal symptoms of newly abstinent heroin abusers.

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