Over 2 million Americans have opioid use disorder, according to some estimates. Illicit opioids such as heroin and fentanyl were responsible for over 80,000 U.S. overdose deaths in 2023.

Despite the known risks, these drugs are notoriously hard to stop using — due in large part to how debilitating withdrawal can be.

“People get trapped in this terrible cycle where they don’t feel normal, they can’t function, they feel horribly ill unless they’re finding and using opioids,” explained Sarah Wakeman, medical director for substance use disorder at Mass General Brigham. “People will forgo other basic, primal needs like connection and sex and food just to relieve their withdrawal symptoms. That’s how powerful it is.”

Medications such as methadone and buprenorphine are very effective at treating opioid dependence, but despite sky-high overdose death rate, these treatments are unnecessarily hard to access in the United States, according to experts.

In this video, Wakeman explains how opioids work in the brain and why they cause such nightmarish withdrawal symptoms. She also explains how treating opioid use disorder with approved medications can help people lead normal, productive lives.

More from STAT:

Become a subscriber: [ Ссылка ]
Watch Full Episodes: [ Ссылка ]
Newsletters: [ Ссылка ]
STAT events: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
Flipboard: rb.gy/3xnsxr
STAT Reports: [ Ссылка ]
STAT eBooks: [ Ссылка ]

ABOUT STAT:
Founded in 2015, STAT is a global digital media brand that focuses on delivering fast, deep, and tough-minded journalism about the life sciences industries to over six million monthly site visitors and an additional 20 million readers on the Apple News app. STAT takes you inside academic labs, biotech boardrooms, and political backrooms, casting a critical eye on scientific discoveries, scrutinizing corporate strategies, and chronicling the roiling battles for talent, money, and market share. With an award-winning newsroom, STAT provides indispensable insights and exclusive stories on the technologies, personalities, power brokers, and political forces driving massive changes in the life sciences industry — and a revolution in human health.

свернуть