Methadone: To Take or Not to Take this Anti-Narcotic Drug

Methadone is an Opioid. Methadone is synthetic by nature. Methadone is also an analgesic. Methadone is basically recommended for the chronic drug abusers. eliteclub Methadone has been found to be an ideal medication for the treatment of addiction from narcotic substances. Of late, methadone has been widely recommended for patients suffering from chronic pain. Methadone’s effective action remains for long duration. Moreover, Methadone is quite cheap as well. As per the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, methadone is included in the list of Schedule II drug.

METHADONE METABOLISM

There are two reasons as to why bidikindonesianews Methadone effects last longer than other morphine drugs. First, methadone’s lipid solubility is quite high. Second, methadone metabolism is slow. Most importantly, the dependence incidence of patients is low. Hence, there is less danger of a heroin detoxified patient treated on methadone getting hooked to the synthetic opioid. Methadone keeps intact the analgesic effects from a day to two at the most.

IDEAL FOR DE-ADDICTION UNITS

Methadone is ideal for the de-addiction units particularly because of the life of a methadone dosage. Moreover, methadone can be given by injection or even orally. For instance, a single daily dose of methadone is enough to keep under control any heroin addict for the entire day.

TOLERANCE & DEPENDENCE OF METHADONE

The tolerance and dependence of methadone increases as one keeps on taking more doses of the synthetic opioid. In this aspect, methadone is similar to heroin. However, the tolerance factor as well as the effects (physiological) differs. Still, it has been found that methadone leaves no tolerance to constipation. However, the other opioids do leave tolerance effects on the patients especially with respect to constipation. Mentionably, analgesia tolerance appears in the first month after one starts taking the drug. But, tolerance to nausea, sedation and respiratory depression commences within four days after one takes such medications.

METHADONE & NDMA

There is a close link between methadone and the brain receptor known as NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartic acid). Methadone can even control tolerance and psychic dependence. This is possible because of its strong reaction against opioid. It is due to this reason that patients taking methadone exhibit lesser withdrawal symptoms than those who are into heroin or morphine. Nonetheless, the methadone withdrawal symptoms linger more than the latter.

THE METHADONE LAUNCHER Methadone was commercially launched by Eli Lilly and Company, a pharmaceutical company.

THE INVENTORS OF METHADONE

German scientists Methadone Gustav Ehrhart and Max Bockmühl jointly synthesized methadone in 1937. They were in search of an analgesic in the Hoechst-Am-Main (IG Farben) laboratory. Their mission was to invent such an analgesic that would solve the twin problems faced by surgeons during surgical operations.

SOLVING SURGEONS’ SETBACKS

First, surgeries were rather problematic with the then extant analgesics. Secondly, the commonly used analgesics were having a high addiction effect. So, both the German scientists found out that synthetic analgesic which would have low addiction effects on the patients and also would be easier to use. They called it Polamidon or Hoechst 10820.

PATENT RIGHTS

It was on September 11, 1941 that the duo filed for patent rights. The structure of this invention was totally different from and least connected with the opioid alkaloids or morphine. Nonetheless, methadone brings about the same types of effects as heroin or morphine. This is because methadone acts on the opioid receptors. Among the opioids, methadone has the simplest chemical composition.

AMERICAN CHAPTER

The Americans came to know of methadone as an analgesic in 1947, courtesy: Eli Lilly and Company. It then rechristened Polamidon or Hoechst 10820 (methadone) as Dolophine. It was under this registered name that methadone was subsequently registered to Roxane Laboratories. Incidentally, the term ‘Dolophine’ has its roots in the German word Dolphium. The Latin word dolor means ‘pain’ while phine means ‘end’.

In the USA, Dolophine (Methadone) was first manufactured by the St. Louis-based Mallinckrodt pharmaceuticals. It is a subsidiary of the Tyco International Corporation. Mallinckrodt enjoyed the patent up to the early part of the 1990s. It still remains the major manufacturer of methadone. The producers of methadone generic preparations also collect their bulk consignments from Mallinckrodt. Nonetheless, many other pharmaceutical companies also produce and distribute methadone today. Moreover Mallinckrodt sells its typical brand of methadone named Methadose as oral concentrate and dispersable tablets in the United States.

THE HITLER LINK…

There is a belief that the German creators coined the name ‘Dolophine’ as a tribute to Adolf Hitler. The Church of Scientology also buttresses this with the data that the earlier name for this synthetic analgesic was actually ‘Adolophine’ or ‘Adolphine’. To make matters worse, vocal Scientologist and actor Tom Cruise also backed the literature in 2005. He was giving an interview to the Entertainment Weekly. However, the weekly soon came out with a follow-up story which nullified the claim. It is, however, now established that the term ‘Dolophine’ was coined by the American wing of the Eli Lilly Corporation after the World War. What is more, the magazine put the lid on the controversy by proving that the 1970 nomenclature of ‘Adolphine’ (which wasn’t ever used for the drug) was also brought into being in the States.