When prevention has failed and there is need for treatment, research based on the brain disease model of addiction has shown that medical treatment can help to restore healthy function in the affected brain circuitry and lead to improvements in behavior. The health care system already has at its disposal several evidence-based treatment interventions that could improve clinical outcomes in patients with substance-use disorders if properly and comprehensively implemented. During treatment, medication can assist in preventing relapse while the brain is healing and normal emotional and decision-making capacities are being restored. For patients with opioid-use disorder, maintenance therapy with agonists or partial agonists such as methadone or buprenorphine can be essential in helping to control symptoms of withdrawal and cravings.50 Opioid antagonists such as extended-release naltrexone may be used to prevent opioid intoxication.51 Naltrexone and acamprosate have been efficacious in the treatment of alcohol-use disorders, and other medications can help in the recovery from nicotine addiction.27
