Treatment of acute opioid withdrawal with ibogaine

Kenneth R. Alper; Howard S. Lotsof; Geerte M.N. Frenken; Daniel J. Luciano; Jan Bastiaans

doi:10.1080/105504999305848

Treatment of acute opioid withdrawal with ibogaine

Kenneth R. Alper, Howard S. Lotsof, Geerte M.N. Frenken, Daniel J. Luciano, Jan Bastiaans

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158 Scopus citations

Abstract

Ibogaine is an alkaloid with putative effect in acute opioid withdrawal. Thirty-three cases of treatments for the indication of opioid detoxification performed in non-medical settings under open label conditions are summarized involving an average daily use of heroin of .64 ± .50 grams, primarily by the intravenous route. Resolution of the signs of opioid withdrawal without further drug seeking behavior was observed within 24 hours in 25 patients and was sustained throughout the 72-hour period of posttreatment observation. Other outcomes included drug seeking behavior without withdrawal signs (4 patients), drug abstinence with attenuated withdrawal signs (2 patients), drug seeking behavior with continued withdrawal signs (1 patient), and one fatality possibly involving surreptitious heroin use. The reported effectiveness of ibogaine in this series suggests the need for systematic investigation in a conventional clinical research setting.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	234-242
Number of pages	9
Journal	American Journal on Addictions
Volume	8
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/105504999305848
State	Published - Jun 1999
Externally published	Yes

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title = "Treatment of acute opioid withdrawal with ibogaine",

abstract = "Ibogaine is an alkaloid with putative effect in acute opioid withdrawal. Thirty-three cases of treatments for the indication of opioid detoxification performed in non-medical settings under open label conditions are summarized involving an average daily use of heroin of .64 ± .50 grams, primarily by the intravenous route. Resolution of the signs of opioid withdrawal without further drug seeking behavior was observed within 24 hours in 25 patients and was sustained throughout the 72-hour period of posttreatment observation. Other outcomes included drug seeking behavior without withdrawal signs (4 patients), drug abstinence with attenuated withdrawal signs (2 patients), drug seeking behavior with continued withdrawal signs (1 patient), and one fatality possibly involving surreptitious heroin use. The reported effectiveness of ibogaine in this series suggests the need for systematic investigation in a conventional clinical research setting.",

author = "Alper, {Kenneth R.} and Lotsof, {Howard S.} and Frenken, {Geerte M.N.} and Luciano, {Daniel J.} and Jan Bastiaans",

note = "Funding Information: The authors thank SHARCNET(Shared Hierarchical Academic Research Computing Network), SciNet, and Compute/Calcul Canada, who provided dedicated resources to run these simulations. This work was supported by NSERC.",

year = "1999",

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doi = "10.1080/105504999305848",

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T1 - Treatment of acute opioid withdrawal with ibogaine

AU - Alper, Kenneth R.

AU - Lotsof, Howard S.

AU - Frenken, Geerte M.N.

AU - Luciano, Daniel J.

AU - Bastiaans, Jan

N1 - Funding Information: The authors thank SHARCNET(Shared Hierarchical Academic Research Computing Network), SciNet, and Compute/Calcul Canada, who provided dedicated resources to run these simulations. This work was supported by NSERC.

PY - 1999/6

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N2 - Ibogaine is an alkaloid with putative effect in acute opioid withdrawal. Thirty-three cases of treatments for the indication of opioid detoxification performed in non-medical settings under open label conditions are summarized involving an average daily use of heroin of .64 ± .50 grams, primarily by the intravenous route. Resolution of the signs of opioid withdrawal without further drug seeking behavior was observed within 24 hours in 25 patients and was sustained throughout the 72-hour period of posttreatment observation. Other outcomes included drug seeking behavior without withdrawal signs (4 patients), drug abstinence with attenuated withdrawal signs (2 patients), drug seeking behavior with continued withdrawal signs (1 patient), and one fatality possibly involving surreptitious heroin use. The reported effectiveness of ibogaine in this series suggests the need for systematic investigation in a conventional clinical research setting.

AB - Ibogaine is an alkaloid with putative effect in acute opioid withdrawal. Thirty-three cases of treatments for the indication of opioid detoxification performed in non-medical settings under open label conditions are summarized involving an average daily use of heroin of .64 ± .50 grams, primarily by the intravenous route. Resolution of the signs of opioid withdrawal without further drug seeking behavior was observed within 24 hours in 25 patients and was sustained throughout the 72-hour period of posttreatment observation. Other outcomes included drug seeking behavior without withdrawal signs (4 patients), drug abstinence with attenuated withdrawal signs (2 patients), drug seeking behavior with continued withdrawal signs (1 patient), and one fatality possibly involving surreptitious heroin use. The reported effectiveness of ibogaine in this series suggests the need for systematic investigation in a conventional clinical research setting.

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Treatment of acute opioid withdrawal with ibogaine

Abstract

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