Galantamine May Assist in Treatment of Multiple Drugs of Abuse

A medication that has shown promise in reducing cocaine use in patients with opioid use disorders also resulted in a decline in opioid use in patients receiving methadone maintenance.

A placebo-controlled trial published last week in The American Journal on Addictions found that opioid-negative drug screens were significantly more prevalent for patients receiving galantamine, a cholinesterase inhibitor, than for patients receiving placebo. The study was a secondary analysis of a 12-week trial involving 120 methadone patients with current cocaine dependence.

The researchers found that galantamine resulted in significant improvement over placebo in opioid-negative drug screens both during treatment and in a six-month follow-up period. The drug's effects became apparent early in treatment, and occurred regardless of whether study participants had used non-prescribed opioids before treatment.

The researchers said that if future trials confirm these results, galantamine may hold promise as a treatment across multiple drugs of abuse.