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Opioid addiction treatments face off in US trial

Opioid addiction treatments face off in US trial | iNFOnews.ca
FILE - This Oct. 19, 2016, file photo shows the packaging of Vivitrol at an addiction treatment center in Joliet, Ill. The first U.S. study, published Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017 in the journal Lancet, comparing Vivitrol and Suboxone, two opioid addiction treatment drugs, finds that a monthly shot works about the same as a daily drug. The shot requires days of detox and that proved to be a stumbling block for many. (AP Photo/Carla K. Johnson, File)

CHICAGO – The first U.S. study to compare two treatments for opioid addiction finds a monthly shot works as well as a daily drug to prevent relapse.

The shot requires days of detox first and that proved to be a stumbling block for many. For those who made it, the shot Vivitrol (VIV-i-trol) worked about the same as an older treatment, Suboxone (sub-OX’-own).

Both drugs had high relapse rates and there were overdoses, including fatal ones, in the experiment in 570 adults. It’s the first to compare the two treatments in the U.S.

Study co-author Dr. Joshua Lee of New York University School of Medicine says it’s time to broaden access to both treatments. Many treatment programs don’t offer either medication.

The study was published Tuesday in the journal Lancet.

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Abbey Westbury

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