We’re pleased to share that Morfeas Koumas, PhD student in the Zanos Lab, has published an article in Neolaia (Youth), a Cyprus-based journal, as part of the dissemination efforts for our PROUD study. The article, titled “Opioid Use Disorder: A Growing Public Health Challenge,” provides an accessible overview of opioid use disorder and discusses emerging therapeutic approaches, with a particular focus on ketamine’s potential as a novel treatment option. In the article, Morfeas explains how opioid use disorder affects an estimated 1.7 million people in the European Union who received treatment in 2023, and in Cyprus specifically, approximately 1,200 individuals use opioids, with opioid-related deaths representing 80-90% of all drug-related fatalities.

Morfeas discusses how while current pharmacotherapies like methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone are effective for maintaining abstinence, they have limited effectiveness in addressing the underlying emotional symptoms and cognitive impairments that accompany opioid withdrawal. He highlights ketamine as a promising therapeutic approach, explaining how this rapid-acting antidepressant shows potential in reducing withdrawal symptoms during opioid cessation, decreasing cravings during both acute and prolonged abstinence, and addressing comorbid depression—a major risk factor for relapse. The article emphasizes that ketamine shows enhanced effectiveness when combined with psychotherapy, offering a dual benefit by helping both with opioid dependence and co-occurring depressive symptoms.

The article features our ongoing PROUD study at the University of Cyprus, led by Dr. Panos Zanos in collaboration with the “Gefyra” (Bridge) substance substitution unit. This double-blind, placebo-controlled study represents Cyprus’s first Phase 2 pharmaceutical-interventional clinical trial and is investigating whether ketamine can simultaneously address comorbid depression and reduce relapse rates in individuals with opioid use disorder. Alongside the clinical trial, Morfeas explains how our team is conducting preclinical research to discover novel pharmacotherapies that replicate ketamine’s therapeutic benefits while minimizing its side effects, including abuse potential and dissociative symptoms.