As one of the most damaging addictions in America at the moment, meth addiction is a quiet nightmare for American health and bodies. The need to try and come up with ways to help combat meth addiction has been challenging. However, for years, this has been a losing battle for most medical experts – until now. The development of a medication regime that has been shown to be highly effective in a number of patients has those fighting the silent war against meth addiction in high spirits.
This is most welcome news for a fight that has been slowly but certainly lost for many years now. According to the Director of the National Institute on Drug Addiction, Dr. Nora Volkow, the latest development is “quite significant” in how well it has shown up during trials and treatment. The study was first published in the New England Journal of Medicine, and shows some very encouraging figures.
Meth addiction has been problematic due to lack of approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for meth addiction treatment. That, though, could now be in the process of changing for the better. As part of a wide-reaching research trial, patients were given a 12-week combination of two drugs: bupropion and naltrexone. Others were given a placebo. They found that around 13.4% of individuals were found to have been helped in combating addiction, compared to just 2.5% of the placebo group.
Is 13.4% success rate really worth shouting about?
While it might not sound like a huge amount, these are impressive success rates – around 11% up on the placebo treatment. Other medications, such as those used in treating brain disorders, have similar success rates. When dealing with such a severe issue, though, there has to be an acceptance that even small-ish numbers like this represent a real win for the medical specialists involved.
Indeed, it is believed the findings have been noted as strong enough by the likes of Dr. Madhukar Trivedi, of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center to be deemed as hopeful. Indeed, in a statement, Trivedi said: “Patients who are struggling with meth use disorder should definitely have a conversation with their treating physicians to consider whether this option is something they should try,”
With around 1.6m Americans believed to have a meth addiction, this is not a small problem that can be ignored any longer. A large number of people are having their quality of life massively reduced with no meaningful way out. The lack of treatment options until now show, then, the need for something like this double-punch medical cocktail to be worth trying.
The treatment has shown impressive results and might just be the solution needed to help addicts find a solution. Bupropion is used to help treat depression, while Naltrexone is used to try and help block opioid receptors in the brain, helping to reduce cravings.
While by no means perfect, in such a tough fight any kind of advantage can be seen as a major boost.
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