Novel approaches for the treatment of psychostimulant and opioid abuse – focus on opioid receptor-based therapies

摘要

IntroductionPsychostimulant and opioid addiction are poorly treated. The majority of abstinent users relapse back to drug-taking within a year of abstinence, making ‘anti-relapse’ therapies the focus of much current research. There are two fundamental challenges to developing novel treatments for drug addiction. Firstly, there are 3 key stimuli that precipitate relapse back to drug-taking: stress, presentation of drug-conditioned cue, taking a small dose of drug. The most successful novel treatment would be effective against all 3 stimuli. Secondly, a large number of drug users are poly-drug users: taking more than one drug of abuse at a time. The ideal anti-addiction treatment would therefore be effective against all classes of drugs of abuse.