Abstract

Background Opioid use disorders are considered a serious public health problem among young adults. Current treatment is limited to long-term opioid substitution therapy, with high relapse rates after discontinuation. This study evaluated the co-administration of memantine to brief buprenorphine pharmacotherapy as a treatment alternative.

Methods 13-week double-blind placebo-controlled trial evaluating 80 young adult opioid dependent participants treated with buprenorphine/naloxone 16–4 mg/day and randomized to memantine (15 mg or 30 mg) or placebo. Primary outcomes were a change in the weekly mean proportion of opioid use, and cumulative abstinence rates after rapid buprenorphine discontinuation on week 9.

Results Treatment retention was not significantly different between groups. The memantine 30 mg group was significantly less likely to relapse and to use opioids after buprenorphine discontinuation. Among participants abstinent on week 8, those in the memantine 30 mg group (81.9%) were significantly less likely to relapse after buprenorphine was discontinued compared to the placebo group (30%) (p < 0.025). Also, the memantine 30 mg group had significantly reduced opioid use (mean = 0, SEM ± 0.00) compared to the placebo group (mean = 0.33, SEM ± 0.35; p < 0.004) during the last 2 weeks of study participation.