Biperiden for excessive sweating from methadone

Abstract

Methadone maintenance treatment is the most common pharmacological intervention for opioid dependence. In clinical trials (1, 2), about 45% of the patients in established methadone maintenance treatment suffered from excessive sweating. Biperiden is an anticholinergic drug that is well known from clinical use in parkinsonism and schizophrenia. We present what we believe are the first reported cases of methadone-induced excessive sweating that were successfully treated with biperiden. During the observation period, all three patients had no additional medication, and none of them reported adverse effects such as sedation, dizziness, dryness of the mouth, or blurred vision.