Fast detoxification of heroin addicts by acupuncture and electrical stimulation (AES) in combination with naloxone

Comparative Medicine East and West
H L Wen

Abstract

Detoxification can be accomplished more rapidly by first "flushing" the opiates from the receptor sites. Naloxone, a short acting antagonist displaces opiates from the receptor sites and such displacement precipitates an abstinence syndrome. Recently, a method of using acupuncture and electrical stimulation (AES) in combination with naloxone for fast detoxification was reported. This technique was applied to 50 cases of heroin addicts. Forty-one were detoxified. There were nine failures. Of the 41 cases, 18 patients were sent to rehabilitation centres and did not experience abstinence symptoms. Six were sent out of Hong Kong where heroin is not available, and two others did not go to a rehabilitation centre but still abstained. The other 15 were presumed to be on the drug. It is advocated that AES increases endorphin and relieves abstinence syndrome, but also at the same time inhibits the autonomic nervous system, mainly the parasympathetic nervous system. The technique does not stop the craving, therefore after detoxification, the patients should be sent for psycho-social rehabilitation, or alternatively be put on long acting antagonist.

Citations

Jul 1, 1994·Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment·V BrewingtonD Lipton
Jul 1, 1984·Journal of Psychoactive Drugs·J A NewmeyerS Klot
May 15, 2013·Acupuncture in Medicine : Journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society·Adrian White
Dec 22, 2005·Journal of Addictive Diseases·Yoon-Hang John KimMel Hovell
Jan 1, 1983·IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Magazine : the Quarterly Magazine of the Engineering in Medicine & Biology Society·T D Oleson, R J Kroening
Apr 1, 1982·IEEE Transactions on Bio-medical Engineering·L J Seligman
Mar 30, 2004·Neurosurgery·Tze-Ching Tan

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