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Heroin Addiction and Related Clinical Problems: 2008, 10, 1 (pages: 19 - 24)

Administration of Nalbuphine to Heroin Addicts. Feasibility and Short-Term Effects

Voronkov M., Ocheret D., Bondarenko S., Yu Y. I., Koren S.

Summary: Kappa opioid agonists attenuate some of the neurochemical and behavioural effects of opiates and are under consideration as potential treatments for opiate dependence. We have shown that mixed kappa-agonist mu-antagonist nalbuphine (0.25 mpk im b.i.d.) was effective in reducing opiate consumption in 29 patients with a broad range of ages (29.4±6.4 years) and with a long history of substance abuse (9.3 ±3.6 years). Administration of nalbuphine for at least 14 days, up to at most 6 months, on an outpatient basis, led to a dramatic fall in the consumption of heroin and other totally illicit substances, along with a decline in criminal behaviour, as well as a higher level of retention of patients in the study, but also to improvements in patients' quality of life. Nalbuphine was safe, effective and highly compatible with the traditional therapy used to combat opiate addiction in Russia. Nalbuphine can also be used to stabilize HIV-positive patients. The study showed that both the current Russian medical infrastructure and medical professionals themselves could successfully contribute to the long-term agonist-antagonist treatment of patients with opiate addiction. We believe that our study warrants the further investigation of nalbuphine in treating opiate addiction.