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Chapter 2
The Science and Rationale for Opiate Agonist Treatment
Suma Singh, M.D.
Introduction
Methadone Maintenance is a treatment regimen for the disease of
opiate addiction. Patients receive daily doses of methadone
(prescription opiate medication) to restore normalcy to a state of
relative deficiency of brain opiates. In concept, it is very similar to
insulin treatment for diabetes, where patients receive daily doses of
insulin (prescription hormone medication) to restore normalcy to a
relative deficiency of pancreatic hormone. In this section, the science
and clinical rationale for treating opiate addiction with an opiate will
be reviewed.
Opiate addiction is a symptom complex (i.e. disease) with physical,
emotional, and behavioral consequences resulting from relative
deficiency of the naturally occurring opiates (endorphins) in the brain.
When viewed in that context, it is not unlike insulin-dependant
diabetes – a symptom complex (i.e. disease) of physical, emotional,
