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Annals of General Psychiatry
Published in: Annals of General Psychiatry 1/2011

Open Access 01-12-2011 | Primary research

Do methadone and buprenorphine have the same impact on psychopathological symptoms of heroin addicts?

Authors: Angelo Giovanni Icro Maremmani, Luca Rovai, Pier Paolo Pani, Matteo Pacini, Francesco Lamanna, Fabio Rugani, Elisa Schiavi, Liliana Dell'Osso, Icro Maremmani

Published in: Annals of General Psychiatry | Issue 1/2011

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Abstract

Background

The idea that the impact of opioid agonist treatment is influenced by the psychopathological profile of heroin addicts has not yet been investigated, and is based on the concept of a specific therapeutic action displayed by opioid agents on psychopathological symptoms. In the present report we compared the effects of buprenorphine and methadone on the psychopathological symptoms of 213 patients (106 on buprenorphine and 107 on methadone) in a follow-up study lasting 12 months.

Methods

Drug addiction history was collected by means of the Drug Addiction History Rating Scale (DAH-RS) and psychopathological features were collected by means of the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90), using a special five-factor solution. Toxicological urinalyses were carried out for each patient during the treatment period.

Results

No statistically significant differences were detected in psychopathological symptoms, including 'worthlessness-being trapped', 'somatization', and 'panic-anxiety'. Methadone proved to be more effective on patients characterized by 'sensitivity-psychoticism', whereas buprenorphine was more effective on patients displaying a 'violence-suicide' symptomatology.

Conclusions

Heroin-dependent patients with psychiatric comorbidities may benefit from opioid agonist treatment not only because it targets their addictive problem, but also, precisely due to this, because it is effective against their mental disorder too.
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Metadata
Title
Do methadone and buprenorphine have the same impact on psychopathological symptoms of heroin addicts?
Authors
Angelo Giovanni Icro Maremmani
Luca Rovai
Pier Paolo Pani
Matteo Pacini
Francesco Lamanna
Fabio Rugani
Elisa Schiavi
Liliana Dell'Osso
Icro Maremmani
Publication date
01-12-2011
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Annals of General Psychiatry / Issue 1/2011
Electronic ISSN: 1744-859X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1744-859X-10-17

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