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Researchers believe they have found the first drug treatment for methamphetamine addiction, an important step in stemming the increase in overdose deaths seen in recent years.
A study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine found that a combination of two drugs may be a safe and effective treatment for adults with moderate or severe methamphetamine use disorder.
The phase three clinical trial investigated the effects of the combination of Naltrexone, which is approved to treat alcohol and opioid use disorders, and Wellbutrin, an antidepressant, on adults with these disorders. related to moderate or severe methamphetamine use. He compared the effects to a control group of patients receiving placebos.
Patients receiving the combination drug responded at a significantly higher rate than those in the control group and reported fewer food cravings and improvements in their lives.
Unlike other substance use disorders, there is no approved drug treatment for methamphetamine use disorder.
“We are very excited about the results because so far, despite a lot of research in the field, there have been no successful trials for the treatment of methamphetamine addiction involving drugs,” said Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, who conducted the trial.
“More and more we are seeing people dying from methamphetamine,” Volkow added. “There is a deep concern that we will not be able to get drug treatment like the one we have for opioid use disorder that could help prevent people from dying from methamphetamine use.”
Drug overdoses have been on the rise for decades, with public attention focusing primarily on opioid deaths. But experts are increasingly concerned about recent spikes in deaths from stimulant drugs, including methamphetamine and cocaine. More than 16,000 people died of methamphetamine-related overdoses in 2019, a ten-fold increase from 2009. The increase in deaths is likely due in part to a more potent methamphetamine originating in Mexico combined with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine.
Experts fear the pandemic will make the problem worse, as more people turn to methamphetamine, relapse into treatment and overdose.
“We know that on the part of researchers in the field and patient groups, on the one hand there has been an increase in the consumption of drugs associated with the COVID pandemic and on the other hand, an increase in relapses and a increased mortality during the pandemic. overdoses, ”Volkow said.
The results of the new study are a sign of hope, Volkow said.
The study showed that 16.5% of patients receiving the combination of drugs responded to treatment compared to 3.4% of patients in the control group, who received placebos.
When screened a few weeks later, 11.4% of the treatment group had responded to treatment, compared to 1.8% of the control group.
While these numbers seem low, addiction is notoriously difficult to treat, and the drug combination is as effective in treating methamphetamine use disorders as other drugs are in treating other addictions such as alcoholism.
Volkow said the next step will be to ask the Food and Drug Administration to approve drugs for the treatment of methamphetamine use disorder to be covered by insurance plans. Doctors can already prescribe the drug combination to patients with disorders related to methamphetamine use, but insurance plans may not cover it if it is not approved by the FDA for this purpose.
“Finally, a meditation that can help improve results and help people achieve sobriety and recovery,” Volkow said.
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