New York, NY (AHN)-A newly released study finds a new treatment that can be given on an outpatient basis resulted in a statistically significant reduction in methamphetamine use by addicted individuals.

According to the report, 36 of the 50 patients who entered the study completed it. The subjects reported using meth on 80 percent of the 90 days prior to treatment, but only 28 percent were using methamphetamines 84 days following the first day of treatment, representing a 65 percent reduction in drug use.

The study's lead author, Dr. Harold C. Urschel III, tells Reuters, "I think we've found the first clinically effective treatment for methamphetamine addiction."

Urschel, an addiction psychiatrist reported the findings last week at the annual meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Previously, Urschel notes, if he had got a 25 percent to 30 percent reduction in drug use among meth addicts with treatment, "I'd be just jumping for joy."

PROMETA consists of a series of intravenous and oral treatments given in a doctor's office over the course of 30 days. Developed by the for-profit company Hythiam, Inc., it consists of FDA-approved drugs used "off-label," meaning the FDA has not approved their use for this condition.

PROMETA consists of an anti-anxiety drug from the class known as benzodiazepine antagonists, and a drug that modulates one of the brain's main signaling systems, GABA.

While the mechanism for the protocol's effectiveness is not clear, Urschel says the main hypothesis is that it somehow restores the function of the GABA system, which has been damaged by drug or alcohol use.

In healthy people, Urschel notes, the neurotransmitter helps people to stay calm and relaxed. Treatment may restore its function, reducing anxiety.