An implant to prevent opioid overdoses?

An implant to prevent opioid overdoses? Opioid overdoses are a real scourge, causing 75,000 deaths a year in the United States. Current treatment is based on the emergency administration of naxolone, which requires the presence of a third party, which is rarely the case in the event of an overdose. A new device could get round this problem ...

Opiates are compounds extracted from the poppy plant and synthetic substances that 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬. Originally used to treat pain, they can cause overdoses 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 when used for long periods without medical supervision. According to the World Health Organisation, opiates are responsible for 𝟐𝟓% 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐫𝐮𝐠-𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐬. Less than 10% of people requiring treatment for opiate addiction receive treatment.

Naloxone is an 𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭 that temporarily blocks the effects of opiates and restores respiratory function. A recent article published in 𝑆𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝐴𝑑𝑣𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠 showed very 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐬: a device implantable under the skin, like a pacemaker, could prevent death from opiate overdose within a few minutes, by 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐱𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 when the onset of an overdose is detected.

If tested and validated in humans, this device could 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐬 from opiate overdose, particularly among 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐬 in remission from opiate addiction.