Acetylmethadol (also referred to as l-alpha-acetylmethadol, methadyl acetate, LAAM or L-AAM) is structurally related to METHADONE. LAAM is a potent OPIOID agonist with properties similar to methadone, except for its prolonged half-life. This slow elimination can be useful clinically, since 50-80 milligram doses of LAAM given three times a week are equivalent to daily doses of 50-100 milligrams of methadone in preventing the symptoms of opioid WITHDRAWAL. Thus, addicts on maintenance treatment would need to come to a clinic only three times a week for LAAM instead of daily for methadone. Since the early 1970s, methadone has been the only agent approved for use in maintenance-treatment programs for HEROIN addicts, but research has shown that LAAM can be a useful alternative. In 1993, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initiated the legal changes needed to make LAAM available for clinical use.

See Also

Treatment)

Figure 1 LAAM

Bibliography

GILMAN, A. G., ET AL. (EDS.). (1990). Goodman and Gilman's the pharmacological basis of therapeutics, 8th ed. New York: Pergamon.

GREENSTEIN, R. A., FUDALA P. J., & O' BRIEN, C.P. (1992). Alternative pharmacotherapies for opiate addiction. In J. H. Lowinson, P. Ruiz, & R. B. Millman (Eds.), Substance abuse: A comprehensive textbook, 2nd ed. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.