Methadone, the granddaddy of replacement treatments for addiction to heroin and other opioid drugs, has been available for 30 years. Surprisingly, studies that show clearly which doses are best at keeping patients from using illegal opioids are rare. Research by Johns Hopkins scientists reported in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association bucks this trend, however: It shows that larger than typical doses of methadone may work best in controlling addicted patients' drug use.
The study also is the largest and most recent to underscore that even at moderate doses, methadone remains the most effective treatment for addiction to illicit opioid drugs, the Hopkins scientists say.
"It's troubling that the dosage of methadone apparently varies so widely across the country," says psychiatrist Eric C. Strain, M.D., who led the study. Some clinics have daily maintenance doses of less than 30 mg, while in others the average dose jumps to 60 mg, Strain says. "This probably stems from uncertainty brought about by clinical trials' long history of controversial or conflicting results."
To avoid the earlier problems, the Hopkins researchers conducted the study at a single location and randomly assigned a large number of patients -- 192 -- to a moderate dose group (40 to 50 mg of methadone) or to a high dose (80 to 100 mg.) group for the 10-month trial. The scientists measured "street" opioid use largely through urine testing. In both groups, illicit drug use dropped sharply: Patients went from as many as 26 uses a week to fewer than three.
The highest reduction, Strain says, was in the high-dose group, which was two to three times lower than in patients given moderate doses. Both groups, he adds, had a relatively low dropout rate.
"Some patients may need dosages higher than 100 mg for optimal benefit,
though more
testing's needed on that, " says Strain. Federal law discourages methadone
dosages greater t
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Contact: Marjorie Centofanti
mcentofanti@jhmi.edu
410-955-8725
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
17-Mar-1999