Basics on Addiction: a training package for medical practitioners or psychiatrists who treat opioid dependence

Opioid dependence is a chronic, relapsing brain disease that causes major medical, social and economic problems to both the individual and society. This seminar is intended to be a useful training resource to aid healthcare professionals – in particular, physicians who prescribe opioid pharmacotherapies – in assessing and treating opioid-dependent indi- viduals. Herein we describe the neurobiological basis of the condition; recommended approaches to patient assessment and monitoring; and the main principles and strategies underlying medically assisted approaches to treatment, including the pharmacology and clinical application of methadone, buprenorphine and buprenorphine–naloxone.
Key Words: Tolerance; physical dependence; addiction; clinical assessment; maintenance pharmacotherapies; methadone; buprenorphine; suboxone.