THIS NERVE STIMULATOR CAN HELP HEROIN ADDICTS RECOVER
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just approved a “percutaneous nerve field simulator” for use in treating those addicted to heroin and other opioid drugs.
The United States is currently in the grip of an opioid addiction epidemic, caused largely by over-prescription of painkillers such as Oxycontin and Vicodin. As a result, drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death among under-50s in the US, having overtaken car accidents and shootings. One reason this problem has proven so intractable is that for those addicted to opiates, withdrawal symptoms can be crippling.
The NSS-2 Bridge from Innovative Health Solutions is designed to make coming off such drugs easier, by vastly reducing those symptoms. The electrical nerve stimulator is placed behind the patient’s ear, and contains a battery-powered chip that emits electrical pulses to stimulate branches of certain cranial nerves via diodes that attach to the skin. These pulses are said to offer relief from withdrawal symptoms such as sweating, gastrointestinal upset, agitation, insomnia and joint pain. The device, which will only be available on prescription, can be worn for up to five days, which is about how long acute physical symptoms of withdrawal usually last. FDA commissioner Dr Scott Gottlieb said: “The FDA is committed to supporting the development of novel treatments, both drugs and devices, that can be used to address opioid dependence or addiction, as well as new, non-addictive treatments for pain that can serve as alternatives to opioids.”