Novel Detoxification Method Cures Opiate Addiction in 36 Hours

The Accelerated Neuroregulation (ANR) method, also known as the Waismann method after its inventor, Andre Waismann, M.D., of Barzilai Hospital (Ashkelon, Israel) reverses both the opiate dependency and its symptoms, and also works on heroine, methadone, subutex, and prescription opiates. The treatment begins during the evening hours, when the patient undergoes general anesthesia (GA) for a period of four hours, during which the opiates are ‘washed out' out of their brain. This is necessary due the intense pain felt during this initial withdrawal period. The patients are then given a cocktail of medically approved drugs to block the opiate receptors in the brain. The morning after, the patient begins post-ANR naltrexone treatment; a daily regimen of naltrexone is followed thereafter, which keeps the opioid receptors blocked, blocking out cravings and making them become irrelevant. Patients are encouraged to eat and drink, slowly returning to general physical activities, and are typically discharged the following noon; upon discharge, the withdrawal syndrome is over and patients are no longer dependent. The whole treatment from start to finish takes 36 hours. The length of the post-ANR Naltrexone treatment is established according to the specific needs of each patient, but is usually one year long.

"My goal is that any drug addict in the world will one day be able to turn up at their local general hospital and say, 'good evening, I am hooked on opiates,” said Dr. Waismann in a recent interview with The Independent newspaper. "They will then lie down on a treatment table and be cured quickly before going home healthy. It will be as simple as taking a trip to the dentist.”

Naltrexone is an opioid receptor antagonist used primarily in the management of alcohol and opioid dependence. It is marketed in generic form as its hydrochloride salt, naltrexone hydrochloride. In rapid detoxification procedures, oral naltrexone daily for up to 12 months is used for opioid dependence management. There are a number of practitioners who will use a naltrexone implant placed in the lower abdomen, and more rarely, in the posterior to replace the oral naltrexone.

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Barzilai Hospital