Drug To Treat Opioid Withdrawal Symptoms in Infants

Babies born to women who use opioid drugs during pregnancy are at a risk of suffering from withdrawal symptoms. Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) refers to a group of symptoms that can cause serious problems in the infant when the expecting mother takes opioids. In order to reduce the severity of the symptoms, infants are treated with opioids and then slowly weaned off after a month. However, a new research study from the Thomas Jefferson University showed a more effective treatment with Buprenorphine that can safely cut down the therapy to nearly half in patients.