UI - 000229

AU - Tennant FS Jr.

AU - Rawson RA

AU - Pumphrey E

AU - Seecof R

TI - Clinical experiences with 959 opioid-dependent patients treated with levo-alpha-acetylmethadol

(LAAM)

AB - AB - Levo-alpha-acetylmethadol (LAAM) is an orphan drug that will soon be generally available to

treatment facilities. We have recently treated 959 opioid addicts with LAAM for periods up to 36

consecutive months. Three times per week dosing of LAAM proved to be a safe and effective treatment

agent for the majority of subjects. During LAAM induction there is a delay in opioid activity as LAAM

forms its long-acting metabolites, therefore, symptomatic withdrawal medication must usually be

administered during the first 96 hours of treatment to adequately suppress opioid withdrawal symptoms and

prevent self- administration of drugs by the patient. No long-term hepatic toxicity or tumor formation could

be demonstrated by liver function studies and liver-spleen imaging in a subgroup of patients. Some opioid

addicts report that they prefer LAAM over methadone, but the reverse was reported by about 40% of our

patients which suggests that both drugs are needed for adequate maintenance treatment of the opioid-

addicted population AD - UCLA School of Public Health AD - UCLA Center for Health Sciences 90024 UI

- 87112832

SO - J Subst Abuse Treat 1986;3:195-202