ADHD Medication Used as Cocaine Addiction Treatment
A cocaine detox Delray Beach program is the first step to overcoming cocaine addiction, but addiction treatment is still needed after the cocaine detox Delray Beach program has finished. A study recently published in JAMA Psychiatry suggests that a stimulant drug used to treat ADHD – methylphenidate – may be useful in treating cocaine addiction. It may normalize cocaine addicts’ brains, to help treat the physical symptoms of addiction. People who take methylphenidate as part of an addiction or cocaine detox Delray Beach program may be able to more successfully resist the temptation to use the drug.
For the study, researchers administered either a placebo or a 20 mg dose of methylphenidate to 18 otherwise healthy adult cocaine addicts. They then scanned the addicts’ brains via MRI and compared the results to those of control subjects. Their findings suggest that methylphenidate may help the brain more easily control the abnormal activity that causes addicts to crave drugs.
Researchers are not yet sure if methylphenidate may prove to be a successful treatment for addiction or may eventually come to play a role in treatment programs like our cocaine detox Delray Beach program. However, the drug shows promise. It affects dopamine receptors, but acts slowly enough that it does not have an addictive potential of its own.
While it may not be enough to treat cocaine addiction all on its own, methylphenidate may be useful in creating a window of opportunity in which addiction treatment specialists can help addicts create healthy coping skills as part of an addiction and cocaine detox Delray Beach treatment program.
Other studies would suggest that methylphenidate is most effective as part of a psychotherapy treatment plan. It’s also possible that methylphenidate could prove useful in treating other addictions. Further research is necessary to determine if methylphenidate could prove useful for long-term addiction treatment.
Our cocaine detox Delray Beach treatment programs rely on the latest in scientific knowledge about detox, substance abuse, and chemical dependency treatment. To learn more about how our cocaine detox Delray Beach programs can start you on the road to sobriety, call us today at 1-888-415-0708.