Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 14, 2026
10:29
Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship, Activity Prediction, and Molecular Dynamics of Non-nucleotide Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors
Published on: May 9, 2025
Risk factors for methadone outside treatment programs: implications for HIV treatment among injection drug users
D Vlahov1, P O'Driscoll, S H Mehta
1New York Academy of Medicine, New York, NY 10029, USA. dvlahov@nyam.org
Addiction (Abingdon, England)
|May 17, 2007
Summary
Older individuals using heroin may obtain methadone outside of treatment programs to manage withdrawal symptoms. This study found no link between HIV treatment and the use of non-prescribed methadone.
Area of Science:
- Addiction Medicine
- Public Health
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Diversion of methadone outside of formal treatment programs is a known issue, but the underlying reasons are not well understood.
- Self-medication for withdrawal symptoms is a potential driver for acquiring methadone illicitly.
- The impact of antiretroviral medications on methadone's efficacy in HIV-infected individuals and its relation to 'street methadone' use remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of street methadone use among injection drug users.
- To identify risk factors associated with obtaining and using methadone outside of prescribed treatment.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of injection drug users (IDUs) recruited in 1988-89 and 1994.
- Semi-annual questionnaires collected data on drug use, health history, and HIV status.
- Generalized estimating equation logistic regression used for multivariate analysis.
Main Results:
- 4.0% of eligible injection drug users reported using street methadone over 12,316 person-years.
- Factors associated with street methadone use included female gender, white race, age 40-59, reported withdrawal symptoms, prior methadone program attendance, recent heroin injection (with or without cocaine), and trading sex.
- No association was found between street methadone use and HIV infection status or treatment.
Conclusions:
- Older injection drug users still using heroin may be using street methadone to alleviate withdrawal symptoms.
- Interactions between antiretroviral therapy and methadone do not appear to be a significant factor driving the use of non-prescribed methadone.
Related Concept Videos
01:29Pulmonary Tuberculosis I
Tuberculosis, often called TB, is a contagious illness primarily caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It mainly affects the lung parenchyma but can also impact other body parts.
Causative Organism
The primary infectious agent causing tuberculosis is Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a slow-growing, acid-fast, aerobic rod that exhibits sensitivity to heat and ultraviolet light. Instances of Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium avium contributing to the development of TB infection are rare.
Mode of...
Causative Organism
The primary infectious agent causing tuberculosis is Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a slow-growing, acid-fast, aerobic rod that exhibits sensitivity to heat and ultraviolet light. Instances of Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium avium contributing to the development of TB infection are rare.
Mode of...
01:29Therapeutic Drug Monitoring: Affecting Factors
Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) is the clinical practice of measuring specific drug levels in a patient's blood or body tissues to manage and optimize therapy. TDM is crucial for drugs with narrow therapeutic windows, like warfarin and phenytoin, where incorrect doses can lead to treatment failure or severe side effects. This monitoring ensures the dosage administered is within a safe and effective range. The factors affecting therapeutic drug monitoring include:Patient-Specific Factors:a.
01:28Amebiasis
Entamoeba histolytica, a protozoan parasite, is responsible for intestinal and extraintestinal amebiasis. Though a significant proportion of infections remain asymptomatic, approximately 50 million individuals annually are estimated to present with clinical disease, resulting in up to 100,000 deaths globally. The disease burden is disproportionately high in regions with lower socioeconomic status, such as parts of India, Africa, Mexico, and Latin America.Etiology and TransmissionThe infective...
01:26Sexually Transmitted Infections
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are diseases transmitted primarily through unsafe sexual interactions. Bacteria, viruses, or parasites cause them and can result in severe health complications if untreated.ChlamydiaThe bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis is responsible for the disease Chlamydia, the most common STI in the United States. This peculiar pathogen requires human cells to reproduce, residing intracellularly. The initial infection often goes unnoticed because it typically does not...
01:10Retrovirus Life Cycles
Retroviruses have a single-stranded RNA genome that undergoes a special form of replication. Once the retrovirus has entered the host cell, an enzyme called reverse transcriptase synthesizes double-stranded DNA from the retroviral RNA genome. This DNA copy of the genome is then integrated into the host’s genome inside the nucleus via an enzyme called integrase. Consequently, the retroviral genome is transcribed into RNA whenever the host’s genome is transcribed, allowing the retrovirus to...
01:15Drug Abuse and Addiction: Pharmacological Phenomena
Drug dependence, abuse, and addiction are complex phenomena that can precipitate various abnormal states. Physical dependence refers to a state of pharmacological adaptation to a drug. This adaptation often results in tolerance—a reduced response to the drug after repeated administrations. When the drug use is abruptly stopped, withdrawal symptoms occur due to the body's need to readjust from the pharmacologically induced imbalance. However, tolerance and withdrawal symptoms do not necessarily...