lil angel15
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Drug addicts 'risk overdose in treatment'
By Tamara McLean
February 04, 2007 12:35pm
HEROING addicts trying to kick their deadly habit using drug-blocking implants remain at risk of a fatal overdose, new Australian research suggests.
Scientists have identified five deaths involving implantable naltrexone, including two cases where users had high levels of the opioid-suppressant in their system.
This is the first proof that addicts can overdose and die while implanted with the drug designed to help them overcome their dependence.
Lead researcher Amy Gibson, from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at the University of NSW, said it seemed those addicts had overdosed on heroin while trying to push through naltrexone's “blocking” powers.
“There is the impression out there that the implant is a bit of a magic cure, that it will block everything and make it impossible to die,” Ms Gibson said.
“We've shown that that's not the case.”
Naltrexone implants were introduced in Australia a decade ago to get around the problem of users forgetting to take their daily dose of the drug, branded as ReVia.
The implant, worn by about 1000 Australians, is usually a capsule or month-long supply of pills inserted under the skin of the stomach to block the effects of heroin in the brain.
It is not officially registered for use but can be accessed at clinics as a result of a loophole.
Writing in the latest Medical Journal of Australia, the researchers identified five incidents between 2000 and 2004 where users had died of drug overdoses while wearing the implant or soon after it was removed.
An autopsy on one young man showed elevated levels of heroin and much higher levels of naltrexone than needed to block the opiate.
And a woman who died of a naltrexone-combined overdose had been suffering pains near her implant in the days before death.
“There's potential for a lot more deaths to be happening; it's just not being picked up,” Ms Gibson said.
The results suggest addicts may take an excessive dose of heroin to overcome the block from the implant, but the naltrexone itself may also have contributed to death.
The researchers said it was important doctors alert their patients to the risk of overdose on the treatment.
“We think it's important people are given a realistic expectation of the risks,” Ms Gibson said.
A spokesman for naltrexone supplier Bristol-Myers Squibb said the company sold the drug in tablet form only and could not comment on implant use.
News.com.au