Jose Lopez

Buprenorphine

Salt Lake Community College

03/31/2018

Buprenorphine

What are opioid drugs? Those who don’t fully comprehend what opioid drugs are

they can include, but are not limited to heroin, fentanyl, legally prescribed pain relievers

such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine, and many more. Opioid addiction

is a chronic and relapsing brain disease designated in the search of pleasurable and/or

alleviating pain by substance abuse. Countless of medications carry the risk for addiction

if misused, leading many individuals to become dependent on these substances. When it

comes to finding treatment for folks addicted to opioid drugs, there are numerous

distinctive alternatives, one of the most effective pharmaceutical drugs is Buprenorphine.

Buprenorphine was introduced to reduce the use of opioid drug and those who suffer

from opioid use disorder. “Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist, meaning that it

binds to those same opioid receptors but activates them less strongly than full agonists

do”(National Institute on Drug Abuse). It has the potential to produce typical opioid

effects and side effects such as euphoria and respiratory depression, its maximal effects

are less than those of full agonists like heroin and methadone.

Buprenorphine had to undergo various clinical trials to be approved by the Food

and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “It has been
available since 2002 as a tablet and since 2010 as a sublingual film, and the U.S. Food

and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a 6-month subdermal buprenorphine implant

in May 2016 and a once-monthly buprenorphine injection in November 2017” (National

Institute on Drug Abuse). Since the launch it has been proven to be more effective

compared to other related medications Methadone and Naltrexone.

The earliest large-scale study was conducted in November 08, 2011 by the

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and part of the National Institutes of Health

(NIH). Both institutions objective was to begin to treat patients that were addicted to

prescribed pain killers. The study proved that 49 percent of the participants who were

under the medication Suboxone a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone an

antagonist opioid receptor reduced patients of abusing painkillers. However, they

concluded continuation of Suboxone was crucial to the treatment course of the patients.

After the study was discontinued the rating dropped to 8.6 percent and a relapse of

abusing painkillers began once more.

In a most recent study by Dr. Stacey Sigmon and her colleges of the University of

Vermont conducted a pathway for individuals who were on a waitlist to be treated with

buprenorphine or methadone program. The majority of the patients who were on this

waitlist were prone to a higher risk of overdose, continuation of drug abuse, or criminal

activity. Therefore Dr. Sigmon along with her colleagues were capable of introducing a

Med-O-Wheel that would be filled with buprenorphine and stocked with a 2-week

supply. The administration team put in place an interactive voice response (IVR) for the

participates to report the use of opioid drugs or other similar drugs during the trial. It
would also remind patients for drug screenings and give them the opportunity of

contacting the research staff regarding cravings, withdraws, or other concerns. The

administration team wanted to introduce a treatment plan with minimal clinical and

administrative input possible. The trial came out to be a complete success with a 90

percent of the participants provided negative drug screenings for illicit opioid. This usual

tool can help lower opioid users before being admitted into a program and has the

potential of increasing successful rates for clinics.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network (NIDA CTN)

conducted an investigation on the effectiveness on buprenorphine and naltrexone. The

research team encountered a critical setback that originated during the study. It was that

patients under the medication naltrexone had to go through a full detoxification many of

whom would drop out of the trial early. On the contrary buprenorphine patients didn’t

have to undergo that type of detoxification, they were able to take the medication as soon

as their treatment course started. This leads to another valuable justification why

buprenorphine is a powerful medication and why researchers began to notice the

advantage this medication had.

Furthermore, another clinical trial was conducted to prove which medication

would help infants for neonatal health and development. The NIDA supported a trial

called Maternal Opioid Treatment: Human Experimental Research (MOTHER) to find an

alternative medication that would be safe for treating opioid dependence during

pregnancy. The study expressed Buprenorphine was a safe alternative to methadone.

There was alternative study going on during the trial called the Methadone Maintenance
Therapy (MMT) their objective was the same for a trouble-free pregnancy and a healthy

baby. However, it was not as effective like buprenorphine, buprenorphine was able to

lower neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) in which infants undergo severe withdraws

such as respiratory difficulties, tremors, hypersensitivity. Buprenorphine has been proved

to be more effective and safe vs methadone for women during their pregnancy to giving

birth, along with infants having fewer withdraws of opioid drug abuse. Both medications

lowered the urge of misuse of opioid drugs during pregnancy.

In conclusion many researchers became aware that the prolongation of

buprenorphine was critical to the development of each patient becoming opioid addiction

free. Throughout the years it has proven to have plenty of health benefits for those

individuals who were conscious or unconscious of their decision making. It will give

these individuals a second chance to change their life around and living a normal life. I

am sure we all hope to see that the rate of opioid addicts drops across the U.S since there

is more knowledge and resources available.

 Work Cited

NIDA. "Opioids." National Institute on Drug Abuse, , https://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-

abuse/opioids. Accessed 4 Apr. 2018.

NIDA. "Medications to Treat Opioid Addiction." National Institute on Drug Abuse, 17 Jan.

2018, https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/medications-to-treat-opioid-

addiction. Accessed 2 Apr. 2018.

NIDA. "Buprenorphine Benefits Waitlisted Seekers of Opioid Treatment." National Institute on

Drug Abuse, 24 Mar. 2017, https://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/nida-

notes/2017/03/buprenorphine-benefits-waitlisted-seekers-opioid-treatment. Accessed 2 Apr.

2018.

NIDA. "Buprenorphine During Pregnancy Reduces Neonate Distress." National Institute on

Drug Abuse, 6 Jul. 2012, https://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/nida-

notes/2012/07/buprenorphine-during-pregnancy-reduces-neonate-distress. Accessed 2 Apr. 2018.

NIDA. "Painkiller Abuse Treated by Sustained Buprenorphine/Naloxone." National Institute on

Drug Abuse, 8 Nov. 2011, https://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/news-

releases/2011/11/painkiller-abuse-treated-by-sustained-buprenorphinenaloxone. Accessed 2 Apr.

2018.

NIDA. "Opioid treatment drugs have similar outcomes once patients initiate treatment." National

Institute on Drug Abuse, 14 Nov. 2017, https://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/news-

releases/2017/11/opioid-treatment-drugs-have-similar-outcomes-once-patients-initiate-treatment.

Accessed 2 Apr. 2018.

 NIDA. "Medications to Treat Opioid Addiction." National Institute on Drug Abuse, 17

Jan. 2018, https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/medications-to-treat-opioid-

addiction. Accessed 4 Apr. 2018.

“The National Alliance of Advocates for Buprenorphine Treatment.” What

Exactly Is Buprenorphine?, www.naabt.org/faq_answers.cfm?ID=2.