Drug Combination Shows Promise for Methamphetamine Addiction Treatment
There are no FDA-approved drugs designed explicitly for methamphetamine addiction treatment. However, a 2021 research study shows promise when it comes to drug combinations. Funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the study data reveals that 13.6% of patients show improvement over the course of 12-weeks. Published today in The New England Journal of Medicine, research at multiple sites occurs within the context of the National Institute on Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network (NIDA CTN).
By combining the opioid blocker naltrexone with bupropion, known by the brand name Wellbutrin, researchers found that more patients achieve long-term recovery.
As a blocker of dopamine receptors in the brain, naltrexone works as an effective treatment for alcohol abuse and opioid use disorder. In contrast, bupropion is a prescription anti-depressant that treats depression. It also has a reputation as an anti-smoking drug that helps people quit cigarettes and get over nicotine addiction.
The Difficulty of Methamphetamine Addiction Treatment
As a provider of integrated healthcare options, Tarzana Treatment Centers knows the difficulty of methamphetamine addiction treatment. Moreover, as a forerunner in providing medications for addiction treatment (MAT services), TTC knows how medications help patients find the path to recovery. Moreover, in many cases, such recovery drugs work best in combinations, addressing the multi-faceted disease of addiction.
When it comes to methamphetamine addiction treatment, the bar is raised for recovery difficulties. If you need a visual image, picture a forest fire raging through a wilderness area. It leaves a verdant forest burnt to the ground. Indeed, such is the neurotoxicity of meth when it hits the human brain. It does lasting damage that makes recovery extra difficult. Thus, methamphetamine addiction treatment is challenging for treatment providers.
New Drugs for Methamphetamine Addiction Treatment
Discussing the new recovery approach to methamphetamine addiction treatment, Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, explains:
“The opioid crisis and resulting overdose deaths in the United States are now well known, but what is less recognized is that there is a growing crisis of overdose deaths involving methamphetamine and other stimulants. However, unlike opioids, there are currently no approved medications for treating methamphetamine use disorder. This advance demonstrates that medical treatment for methamphetamine use disorder can help improve patient outcomes.”
The Accelerated Development of Additive Pharmacotherapy Treatment for Methamphetamine Use Disorder study took place from 2017 to 2019. At clinics in multiple community treatment programs nationwide, the study enrolled 403 adult volunteers aged 18 to 65 with moderate to severe methamphetamine use disorder. All participants wish to reduce or cease the use of the drug.
On the cutting edge of medications for addiction treatment, Tarzana Treatment Center is ready to apply the new drug combinations. We want to help patients struggling with crystal meth addiction. After all, given the challenges of methamphetamine addiction treatment, the key is to find whatever works. If only one or two out of ten patients improve their recovery chances, such a drug regimen is worth trying. Indeed, it will save lives.