Kontakt 2007, 9(1):179-182 | DOI: 10.32725/kont.2007.025

Buprenorphine: medicine or drug?Biomedicine

Petr Procházka

Jihočeská univerzita v Českých Budějovicích, Zdravotně sociální fakulta, katedra radiologie a toxikologie

The work presented here summarizes available information on buprenorphine. The main purpose is to indicate the danger and risks resulting from the use of this medicine. The substance is currently being used as a replacement medicine in the treatment of the dependence on heroin. Like methadone, buprenorphine is also able to displace opiates from receptors. Buprenorphine belongs to so called opioid analgesics. It is an agonist of μ-receptors and antagonist of κ-receptors. If administered at high doses after pure opioid-agonists, such as heroin, antagonist effects can originate. Therefore, the agonist effect is diminished or abolished. It is thus a very effective medicinal substance. However, its administration is also associated with side and undesirable effects. These are respiratory depression, hepatic impairment, and a high probability of addiction. The addiction is the main cause of the interest in buprenorphine. It is comprised as a medicinal substance in medicinal products with proprietary names Subutex and Temgesic. These two medicinal products can be misused. Subutex and Temgesic were very rapidly introduced to the black market and they are being sold illegally. Together with this, the number of persons dependent on buprenorphine increases. Studies also demonstrated increases in the number of registered applications for the treatment of this dependence. Thus, the ever growing tendency to the misuse of buprenorphine is obvious. There is an experience that medicines belong to the most easily available and most frequently misused drugs. Buprenorphine effects are intensified by the action of alcohol or benzodiazepines. Similarly as benzodiazepines, barbiturates or tricyclic antidepressants, buprenorphine also indicates that a medicine can easily become a drug and come into the circulation through the mediation of the black market.

Keywords: Buprenorphine; replacement therapy; Subutex; misuse of medicinal products; drug addiction

Received: January 18, 2007; Accepted: March 15, 2007; Published: June 15, 2007  Show citation