The FDA recently approved an arm implant that emits drugs to treat individuals addicted to opioids, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Here are five things to know:
1. The implant, Probuphine, emits buprenorphine. The drug works to minimize cravings for opioids while preventing withdrawal symptoms.
2. Providers will place four implants into the patient's upper arm, which will provide that patient six months' worth of buprenorphine.
3. While buprenorphine is currently available as tablets or films, addicts often run out of doses, or even skip them. Therefore, they resort to illegal narcotics.
4. In a clinical study, researchers tested the drug in 176 people who were already taking an oral form of buprenorphine for six months. Of that group, nearly half continued oral doses and the other received the implant. FDA documents summarized the study's results, which found the rates of illicit opioid use were the same in both groups.
5. In a statement, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said "Scientific evidence suggests that maintenance treatment with these medications in the context of behavioral treatment and recovery support are more effective in the treatment of opioid-use disorder than short-term detoxification programs aimed at abstinence."
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