National Institutes of Health
Fact Sheet
Heroin Addiction
Thirty Plus Years Ago
•
In the 1960s, the most popular form of treatment forheroin addiction was “Civil Commitment,” whichessentially placed heroin addicts in prison camps.
•
After use of heroin (and other drugs) skyrocketed,methadone was tested and found to be an effectivetreatment for opiate addiction. In the early 1970s,public concern over veterans returning fromVietnam with heroin addiction prompted thegovernment to establish a nationwide network of methadone treatment clinics.
•
By the 1980s, heroin use was known to beassociated with premature mortality, but themechanisms were unknown. The emergence of AIDS gave new urgency to the need to treat heroinaddicts, among whom HIV infection spreadrampantly through the sharing of contaminatedinjection equipment.
Today
•
The discovery of opiate receptors, along withenkephalin and endorphins — the naturallyoccurring chemicals that bind to them — marked awatershed event in neuroscience for understandingthe effects of drugs in the brain. We now have amuch better understanding of the opioid system’srole in regulating pain, mood, and other brainfunctions.
•
We understand addiction to opiates (and other drugs)as being a chronic, relapsing disease with a widerange of serious medical consequences.
•
These science advances enabled the development of better compounds for treating opiate addiction.
•
Naltrexone, an opioid blocker, was added to themedications toolbox in 1984. It was highly effectivein reversing the effects of heroin overdose, but itsuse to achieve abstinence was hampered by poortreatment adherence.
•
Methadone is a successful treatment option, but islimited because it is only available throughspecialized treatment clinics.
•
Buprenorphine, the latest tool available for opioiddetoxification and relapse prevention, can now beprescribed in the privacy of a doctor’s office. Anovel formulation combining buprenorphine withthe opiate blocker naloxone discourages its abuse.Recent evidence reveals a growing willingness onthe part of community treatment programs to usebuprenorphine for opiate detoxification, signaling acultural shift toward greater acceptance of pharmacotherapies among treatment providers.
•
Effective medications and HIV risk reductioninterventions in intravenous drug abusers havehelped to curb the spread of HIV by injection drugusers (IDUs) (see chart below).
MSM –
Men who have sex with men
.IDU –
Injection drug users
.
•
Public education campaigns teach young people thatrisky sexual behaviors are often the link betweendrug abuse and HIV/AIDS.
National Institutes of Health Heroin Addiction – 1Updated September 2006
Leave a Comment