Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Adelaida Inger
Gustavo Ibarra
and/or relief by substance use. Many drugs and medications carry the risk for addiction leading
many individuals to become dependent on these substances. There are many different routes
when it comes to treatment, one of the most effective forms being Buprenorphine.
Buprenorphine is an opioid medication used to treat opioid and/or heroin addiction, its unique
pharmacological characteristics make it ideal for use in a variety of settings. This medication is
secure, meaning not just anyone can get their hands on it, only so many doctors have the proper
alkaloid of the opium poppy discovered sometime in the 1960s. Because it is an opioid, it can
produce some of the same effects as other opioids. It was originally developed as an analgesic or
pain reliever yet had been discussed for potential management of opioid dependence since the
early 1970s. n October of 2002 buprenorphine was approved by the FDA as a Schedule III
narcotic, its now used for treating opioid dependency and neonatal abstinence syndrome.
liquid (Buprenex), implant (Puobuphine) and even patch. Suboxone and Subutex are two of the
most commonly heard of, both are used sublingually, under the tongue. In the 1970s,
pharmaceutical companies were working hard to discover a medication that would provide a
Inger 2
cure for addiction, the focus shifted from opiate agonists, such as buprenorphine, to opiate
buprenorphine and naloxone at a 4:1 ratio. Buprenorphine itself can be abused if injected, reports
of this very thing happening in other countries also pushed for naloxone in suboxone. Naloxone
is present in Suboxone to discourage misuse, if injected the naloxone will cause withdrawal in
patients that are already addicted to other opioids. It can not be absorbed orally, naloxone is
Before one can understand how Buprenorphine works in the brain, you must understand
how the brain works. The brain has three main opiate receptors called mu, kappa, and delta. The
release of endorphins onto these receptors causes pleasant sensations increasing the likelihood of
a person performing the same actions. For example, exercise, laughing and eating a favorite food
cause this release, making it more likely that we will repeat these actions in pursuit of that
feeling. Heroin and opioids on the other hand attach themselves to these receptors in the brain
with three main effects; euphoria, pain relief and reduced respiration. This makes it a whole lot
easier for people to develop a habit of continued use that will continually act on the receptors to
replicate those feelings. This is how opiate addiction and dependence is developed.
the opioid receptors in the brain without a perfect match. The better the fit of opioid and receptor
the more the effects. As a result, the buprenorphine occupies the receptors without all the opioid
effects. The receptor is fooled into thinking it has been fully satisfied without the feelings of
euphoria and without causing significant respiratory depression, this prevents other opioids from
being able to bind with the receptors as well. If the patient uses heroin or painkillers, they are
Inger 3
unlikely to experience additional effects. Buprenorphine tends to block the receptors a lot longer
Buprenorphine is also an antagonist of the kappa opioid receptor, this receptor plays a
vital role in producing some of the symptoms of opioid withdrawal. Some of the symptoms
include depression, anxiety, muscle aches, restlessness etc. Buprenorphine attaches to the kappa
receptor and slows the activity, inducing a positive food and feelings of well-being.
The unique pharmacological characteristics of this medication result in less overdose risk
than other opioids (morphine, heroin, methadone, etc.), less respiratory depression and lower
signs of withdrawal symptoms. In this sense, buprenorphine is more fit for many different types
of treatment settings. Buprenorphine can more effective when taken every other day or less, it is
designed for reduced potential for abuse. It has potential for better acceptance by the general
[For quotations of more than four lines, indent the quote one inch from the left
margin and do not use quotation marks. To apply this formatting, on the Home
tab, in the Styles gallery, click Quote. For shorter quotations, you can put them in
Table 1
[This Table Title Uses a Style Named Table Title, Available on the Home Tab, in the Styles
Gallery]
Inger 4
Source: [This source text uses a style named Table Source, available on the Home tab, in the
Styles gallery.]
a. [This note text uses a style named Table Note, available on the Home tab, in the
Styles gallery. Table notes use a lowercase letter instead of Arabic numerals to differentiate them
Chart Title
6
0
Category 1 Category 2 Category 3 Category 4
Fig. 1. [This figure caption uses the No Indent style, available on the Home tab, in the Styles
gallery. Label figures with the abbreviated Fig. and a figure number.]
[The sample Works Cited list that follows was created using the Bibliography feature
available on the References tab. This feature offers the option to specify MLA style, so that your
Inger 5
references are automatically formatted correctly. You can also use this feature to add in-text
citations, such as the one shown at the end of this paragraph. To add page numbers to a citation
after you insert it, right-click the citation and then click Edit Citation. Note also that MLA rules
for citations and references are extensive. So its a good idea to refer to MLA 7th Edition for
[To use this template when creating the outline for your paper, on the Home tab, in the
Styles gallery, click No Indent. Then, on the same tab, in the Paragraph group, click the
Multilevel List icon and then click the MLA Outline style that appears under List Styles. The
first six levels of this list style correspond to the outline levels defined in MLA 7th Edition.]
For additional guidance on formatting your research paper, consult MLA 7th Edition as
Works Cited
AuthorLastName, FirstName. Title of the Book Being Referenced. City Name: Name of
LastName, First, Middle. "Article Title." Journal Title (Year): Pages From - To. Print.