Hypogonadism and Low Testosterone Levels as a Side Effect of Methadone and Buprenorphine

The article is an animal study which addresses an im- portant clinical issue i.e. hypogonadism and low testos- terone levels as a side effect of methadone and buprenor- phine (1). This is not an uncommon side effect which we see in patients receiving long term opioid maintenance treatment. Since methadone has been in use since the 1960s, clinicians became aware of this problem and it is usually addressed and treated as needed. On the contrary, buprenorphine has been available for less than a decade. Therefore there is little information available about this possible side effect for patients on buprenorphine.