But when it comes to treating people whose neural reward circuits have been hijacked by meth, there is no comparable approved prescription therapy. Methadone and buprenorphine have long been used to treat opioid use disorder - albeit woefully underused. "For those people who benefit from this treatment, it is very likely to have a positive impact for their lives, as well as societally," Trivedi said. Madhukar Trivedi, a psychiatrist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, described meth addiction as "a very severe illness that affects the person's health, employment, quality of life, their marriage, self-worth - and it is fatal." In particular, investigators hope the benefits of the treatment's two-drug combination of daily bupropion (the antidepressant Wellbutrin) and injections every three weeks of naltrexone (which is used to treat both alcohol and opioid use disorder) could be magnified if it is paired with evidence-based psychosocial support, like cognitive behavioral therapy. While the treatment's success rate, 14 percent, is modest and important questions remain about its potential for real-world use, the study's publication in The New England Journal of Medicine last month has nevertheless raised hope in the addiction field that more research might build on its findings.
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