Pharmacological advances in addiction treatment.

In the past 20 years significant advances in the pharmacological treatment of opioid dependence have been made, and research in this area is continuing. Therapeutic applications and current research in the use of pharmacological agents in maintenance therapy, treatment with narcotic antagonists, and narcotic detoxification are discussed. In addition, an overview is presented of recent developments in opioid pharmacology and of recently developed novel pharmacological agents which may prove useful in the future treatment and/or prevention of opioid dependence.