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Vivitrol Enhances The Treatment for Heroin and Opiod Addiction

The U.S.D.A recently approved the drug Vivitrol for the treatment of opioid  and heroin addiction. Vivitrol is an extended release formulation of naltrexone, an opioid receptor antagonist. Clinical trials have shown Vivitrol to be effective in preventing not only relapse to drug use following detoxification, but also to diminish cravings that often drive it. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)  reported that heroin addiction afflicts an estimated 810,000 people in this country. NIDA's website states that in 2008, 1.85 million people in the U.S. met the diagnostic criteria for abuse or dependence on opioid pain relievers, such as Oxycontin and Vicodin.
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