Every-other-day acetylmethadol disturbs circadian cycles of human motility

1-Alpha-acetylmethadol (LAAM) maintenance treatment has been proposed as a favorable alternative to methadone maintenance. With an unobtrusive actometer we recorded two successive 24-h cycles of spontaneous motor activity from 12 patients receiving LAAM every other day, and from five receiving methadone every day. LAAM patients were about 50% more active on days of drug administration than on no-dose days (P less than 0.001). There were no significant day-to-day differences in motility of methadone patients. LAAM administered every other day may significantly modify the human circadian rhythm of spontaneous motility; further research is thus needed before this treatment is widely adopted.