Accelerate the Development of New MAT/MAR Approaches

Background

The role of medications in helping people with Substance Use Disorders is significant. It is logical to think that all the potential options of Medication-Assisted Treatments (MAT) have not yet been discovered and researched. Rather than just limit our thinking to those that have been discovered and researched, a comprehensive strategy should include efforts to expand innovation and research to add new MAT options to the toolkit for helping people.

  FDA is loosening the standards to speed the development of new practices to the market.

Promising Options for New Approaches

The Sinclair Method

The Sinclair Method has shown significant success in helping people achieve long-lasting success over alcoholism. This approach focuses on retraining the brain to reduce or eliminate the cravings that people have by having them take Naltrexone before drinking so their brain learns that alcohol no longer provides the effect it previously did, and the cravings dissipate. The Sinclair Method has been very effective in helping people recover from alcoholism (with claims up 80% success rates), and it is the standard approach to treating alcoholism in Finland. More information is needed on whether this approach has been shown to be effective in helping people with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD). The 3-C Foundation provides resources on this approach for dealing with alcoholism.

One topic that needs research but could be very powerful is to use an approach similar to the Sinclair Method that seems to have a high track record of success to help break people's cravings for opioid drugs. Here are some articles on the Sinclair Method as a way to treat alcohol addiction.
https://www.the-sinclair-method.com/ [1]
  [2]
https://www.centersite.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=11132&cn=14 [3]
https://addictionthenextstep.com/blog/new-vancouver-based-companys-innovative-approach-makes-treatment-naltrexone-available-every-canadian-battling-alcohol-problem/ [4] 
https://contral.com/?lang=en [5]
http://www.sinclairmethod.com/index_files/Page399.htm [6]

 

Universities

Specific universities and colleges have centers and professors that focus on research in the area of addiction and treatment

 

• University of Michigan Addiction Center (UMAC)
• University of Virginia: Center for Leading Edge Addiction Research

Tools & Resources

TR - Accelerate the Development of New MAT Approaches

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Sources

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1. [7]