Photo: 秘密研究所 Langone Staff
As the opioid epidemic continues its heavy toll across the United States, 秘密研究所 Langone Health researchers published results of the first major trial in the nation comparing two options for medical treatment of addiction to the substance.
, professor in the , and , associate professor in the and the , at 秘密研究所 Langone Health reported in the Lancet that both buprenorphine-naloxone (marketed as Suboxone庐 and as a generic) and extended-release naltrexone (marketed as Vivitrol庐) were equally effective鈥攁lthough naltrexone was more difficult to initiate. The researchers recruited 570 opioid users from community health clinics across the country and randomized them to take 1 of the 2 treatments, following them for 24 weeks.
鈥淭he rates of good outcomes were pretty much the same, side by side. And that鈥檚 new data,鈥 Dr. Lee tells The Washington Post.
Medically assisted treatment is considered the most successful way to recover from substance abuse disorder, but treatment should also include counseling, according to the researchers.
鈥淚 think we need to look at addiction, much like hypertension, as a chronic disease,鈥 says Dr. Rotrosen.
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