Feature Channels: Substance Abuse

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Released: 10-Mar-2020 10:25 AM EDT
Case Western Reserve University research finds high rates of trauma exposure, PTSD symptoms for those in drug court
Case Western Reserve University

Nearly 94% of defendants in Cuyahoga County drug court have been exposed to trauma and many suffer from symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to a new Case Western Reserve University study.

   
Released: 9-Mar-2020 9:00 AM EDT
March 2020 Issue of The American Journal of Gastroenterology Includes Complementary & Alternative Therapies for Functional GI Disorders
American College of Gastroenterology (ACG)

The March issue of The American Journal of Gastroenterology features evidence-based articles related to complementary and alternative medicine therapies for functional GI disorders, a new ACG Clinical Guideline for the diagnosis and management of Chronic Pancreatitis, opioid-related constipation, and more.

Released: 5-Mar-2020 12:10 PM EST
Saint Louis University Forms Missouri’s First Addiction Medicine Fellowship
Saint Louis University Medical Center

Saint Louis University School of Medicine is tackling the country’s opioid abuse crisis by training community physicians to recognize and treat addictions.

Released: 4-Mar-2020 4:05 AM EST
Electronic Medical Record-Embedded Clinical Decision Support System for Opioid Prescribing Shows Mixed Outcomes
ISPOR—The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research

Value in Health, the official journal of ISPOR—the professional society for health economics and outcomes research, announced today the publication of new research showing mixed clinical results of an electronic medical record-embedded clinical decision support system for opioid prescribing.

Released: 3-Mar-2020 12:50 PM EST
Outreach effective in connecting people who have opioid use disorder with long-term treatment
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Proactive outreach, including knocking on the doors of individuals who recently overdosed on opioids, can be an effective way to engage more people who have opioid use disorder with long-term care, according to researchers at UTHealth.

Released: 3-Mar-2020 6:00 AM EST
Opioid Risk Reduction Program Helps Reduce Suicide Rate at VHA Facility
Association of Academic Physiatrists (AAP)

A reduction in suicides among patients at a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facility may be due to a multispecialty opioid risk reduction program that included addiction management treatment, according to a new study presented this week at the Association of Academic Physiatrists Annual Meeting in Orlando.

Released: 28-Feb-2020 3:35 PM EST
Behavioral treatments vs. opioids: a UAlbany health psychologist surveys chronic pain sufferers
University at Albany, State University of New York

Chronic pain, a disabling health condition that affects 50 million to 116 million Americans, is often treated with opioids, despite little evidence of long-term benefit and risks of addiction and overdose. Do patients know their options beyond opioids? Are doctors telling them?

Released: 26-Feb-2020 2:00 PM EST
Use of Naloxone To Combat the Opioid Overdose Epidemic Explored in New Book
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)

Naloxone, a life-saving drug that can rapidly reverse the effects of opioid overdose, should be in every first-aid kit and medicine cabinet. That is the conclusion Nancy Campbell reached after years of research and dozens of interviews with scientists, drug users, and activists in the United States and abroad.

   
Released: 26-Feb-2020 10:05 AM EST
Patients Better Informed About Health After HIV And HCV Tests That Give Immediate Results
Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School

When substance use disorder patients were tested for both HIV and hepatitis C virus at the same time and given the results within 20 minutes, they were far more likely a month later to indicate they had received results, compared with patients who were referred for testing services.

Released: 25-Feb-2020 4:15 PM EST
Medication Treatments Led to 80 Percent Lower Risk of Fatal Overdose for Patients with Opioid Use Disorder than Medication-free Treatments
NYU Langone Health

Patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) receiving treatment with opioid agonists (medications such as methadone or buprenorphine) had an 80 percent lower risk of dying from an opioid overdose compared to patients in treatment without the use of medications.

Released: 24-Feb-2020 2:30 PM EST
PA School Nurses on the Frontlines of the Opioid Epidemic
University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing

At the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing), researchers conducted an online survey of 362 Pennsylvania school nurses (elementary, middle, and high school) to better understand how they have a supply, administer, and perceive storing naloxone in their schools. The results illustrate that though many nurses have a supply of naloxone in their school, important barriers to access and use of this life-saving medication still exist.

Released: 20-Feb-2020 8:00 AM EST
It’s a crime, but for meth cooks it’s also a job
Iowa State University

The motivation to start cooking meth is often driven by addiction, but a new study takes a closer look at the reasons cooks engage in this criminal behavior and come to see it as a job. Researchers say the work offers insight that can help with the development of prevention and rehabilitation efforts.

   
Released: 19-Feb-2020 2:35 PM EST
Battling treatment resistant opioid use disorder
Washington University in St. Louis

Similar to treatment resistant depression, there is a subpopulation of those addicted to opioids who do not respond to standard opioid use disorder (OUD) treatments. In a new paper, an addiction expert at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis suggests a new category for these types of patients: treatment resistant opioid use disorder (TROUD).

   
Released: 6-Feb-2020 12:20 PM EST
Preventing opioid misuse in the rural America
South Dakota State University

Nearly 2,500 adolescents and adults in rural communities across South Dakota are better prepared to prevent opioid misuse through SDSU Extension’s Strengthening the Heartland Program.

   
Released: 6-Feb-2020 10:25 AM EST
Gaps Remain in Rural Opioid Crisis Research
Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Rural areas have been hit hard by the opioid crisis, but few studies have been done to understand how to improve access to treatment and reduce the overdose death rate in these communities, according to a new study by Rutgers University, the University of Michigan, and Wayne State University.

   
3-Feb-2020 5:05 AM EST
Does Simultaneous Use of Marijuana Affect Alcohol Intake and Consequences Among Young Adults?
Research Society on Alcoholism

Simultaneous use of alcohol and marijuana (SAM) is common among young people, and is sometimes a deliberate choice to enhance the effects of intoxication. However, compared with alcohol use alone, SAM has been linked to a greater risk of interpersonal problems, physical and mental health issues, and road accidents. Despite this, there has been little research at the occasion level – for example, it is not known if individuals who engage in SAM drink more (or less) alcohol on the occasions when they also use marijuana, and experience more (or fewer) alcohol-related consequences, than on alcohol-only days. Researchers in Seattle and Minneapolis have conducted a new study, published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, to evaluate these aspects, by conducting multiple daily assessments of alcohol and SAM use among the same individuals over time. The study took place in and around Seattle in Washington state, where non-medical marijuana use is legal for those over

     
Released: 4-Feb-2020 2:30 PM EST
‘Levitating’ proteins could help diagnose opioid abuse, other diseases
Michigan State University

Researchers at Michigan State University’s Precision Health Program have helped develop a fascinating new method called magnetic levitation for detecting the density of proteins in the blood that could vastly improve the rate at which diseases are detected and diagnosed.

31-Jan-2020 8:30 AM EST
One-Stop Addiction Support Services: Study Highlights Value of Recovery Community Centers
Research Society on Alcoholism

A new service model for addiction recovery support combines voluntary peer-led initiatives with professional support, providing flexible community-based options to address barriers to sustained recovery. Recovery Community Centers (RCCs) are one of the most common and rapidly expanding examples of this model in the US. RCCs function as recovery hubs for people with substance use disorder, offering a range of support services on the principle that sustained recovery requires not only detoxification and mental health support, but also personal, social, environmental, and cultural resources. Collectively, these resources have been termed ‘recovery capital’. The idea is that boosting an individual’s recovery capital will lead to improvements in quality of life, functioning, and well being that support long-term remission from addiction. However, RCCs have not yet been widely studied, and little is known about their user-base and impact. A new study published in the journal Alcoholism: Cli

     
Released: 3-Feb-2020 9:00 AM EST
Natural Herb Kratom May Have Therapeutic Effects And Relatively Low Potential For Abuse Or Harm, According To A User Survey
Johns Hopkins Medicine

Using results of a survey of more than 2,700 self-reported users of the herbal supplement kratom, sold online and in smoke shops around the U.S., Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers conclude that the psychoactive compound somewhat similar to opioids likely has a lower rate of harm than prescription opioids for treating pain, anxiety, depression and addiction.

Released: 30-Jan-2020 6:25 PM EST
IU study looks at the effect of Medicaid expansion on hiring attempts in substance use treatment workforce
Indiana University

While Medicaid expansion has led to substantial increases in Medicaid reimbursement for substance use treatment, it has not specifically led to a detectable increase in hiring attempts to increase the substance use disorder and behavioral health treatment workforce, according to a study by Indiana University researchers.

28-Jan-2020 10:40 AM EST
Ketamine Use is Underreported—Likely Due to Unknown Exposure—Among EDM Partygoers
New York University

Nearly 37 percent of electronic dance music (EDM) party attendees test positive for ketamine use when samples of their hair are tested—despite only 14.6 percent disclosing that they have used the drug in the past year.

Released: 29-Jan-2020 1:35 PM EST
American Society of Anesthesiologists Launches New Podcasts
American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA)

The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) today announced the launch of two new monthly podcasts for physician anesthesiologists, the anesthesia care team, residents, medical students and anesthesiology community.

Released: 27-Jan-2020 9:00 AM EST
Mount Sinai, Institute for Community Living (ICL), and Healthfirst Unite to Provide Behavioral and Physical Health Services to Highest-Need Patients, Yielding $1.3 Million in Medicaid Savings
Mount Sinai Health System

Collaboration improved quality metrics and reduced hospitalizations for hundreds of people with significant physical and behavioral health conditions

22-Jan-2020 10:25 AM EST
Recognize an overdose, save a life
American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA)

Every day nearly 200 people die from an overdose of drugs or from alcohol poisoning, with opioids responsible for the majority. Recognizing the signs and knowing how to respond to medical emergencies, including carrying and administering naloxone in cases of opioid overdose, can save lives says the ASA.

Released: 24-Jan-2020 2:25 PM EST
UCI researchers identify a connection between early life adversity and opioid addiction
University of California, Irvine

Individuals with a history of early life adversity (ELA) are disproportionately prone to opioid addiction. A new UCI-led study reveals why. Published in Molecular Psychiatry, the study titled, “On the early life origins of vulnerability to opioid addiction,” examines how early adversities interact with factors such as increased access to opioids to directly influence brain development and function, causing a higher potential for opioid addiction.

Released: 24-Jan-2020 1:30 PM EST
Making the Homeless Count
Augustana University, South Dakota

On Tuesday, Jan. 28, volunteers will conduct the annual Point-in-Time Count, known as “We All Count” of the homeless in Sioux Falls. The Augustana Research Institute will be at the center of it.

Released: 24-Jan-2020 1:05 PM EST
Opioid Dependence Found to Permanently Change Brains of Rats
UC San Diego Health

Approximately one-quarter of patients who are prescribed opioids for chronic pain misuse them, with five to 10 percent developing an opioid use disorder or addiction. In a new study, UC San Diego researchers found that opioid dependence produced permanent changes in the brains of rats.

Released: 24-Jan-2020 12:45 PM EST
Advanced Practice Registered Nurses to Have a Greater Role in National Response to Opioid Epidemic
Wolters Kluwer Health: Lippincott

As we enter a new year and a new decade, many states have enacted legislation affecting the roles of advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) in terms of practice authority, reimbursement, and prescriptive authority, according to the 32nd Annual Legislative Update in the January issue of The Nurse Practitioner, published by Wolters Kluwer.

   
Released: 22-Jan-2020 8:00 AM EST
Program reduces narcotic prescriptions after surgery with over-the-counter pain medicine
Houston Methodist

Surgeons at Houston Methodist Hospital are stemming the tide of addiction to prescription opioids by managing patients’ pain after surgery. By using long-acting local anesthetics at the site of surgery and scheduled non-narcotic pain medicine, they decreased opioid prescriptions from 87% to 10% after surgery.

Released: 21-Jan-2020 8:00 AM EST
Press registration now open for 2020 Experimental Biology meeting
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB)

Complimentary press passes and virtual newsroom access are now available for the Experimental Biology (EB) 2020 meeting, to be held April 4–7 in San Diego.

Released: 15-Jan-2020 3:45 PM EST
National survey seeks musicians' input on mental health and substance misuse challenges
Tulane University

The goal of the survey is to collect data that will help experts develop interventions to support musicians.

   
Released: 14-Jan-2020 9:50 AM EST
Epidemic levels of chronic pain, opioid use disorder add to challenges of managing patients in pain
American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN)

A series of seven articles in AACN Advanced Critical Care focuses on the challenges of safe, effective pain management in the ICU, including more Americans reporting daily chronic pain and the rapidly increasing prevalence of opioid misuse and opioid use disorder.

7-Jan-2020 4:55 PM EST
Medicaid Expansion Associated with Fewer Total Opioid Overdose Deaths Across the U.S.
NYU Langone Health

The expansion of Medicaid coverage for low-income adults permitted by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was associated with a six percent reduction in total opioid overdose deaths nationally, according to new research from NYU Grossman School of Medicine and University of California, Davis.

Released: 9-Jan-2020 3:50 PM EST
Overdose rates are higher, but opioid addiction care is harder to find, in Medicaid work requirement states, study finds
Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan

Low-income people with addiction, especially those with addiction to opioids, may find it hard to access the kind of care they need to recover no matter where they live, a new study suggests. But treatment for opioid problems is especially scarce in states that may drop people from their Medicaid health insurance rolls -- unless they can show that they’re working, in school, have a disability or are medically frail or receiving treatment for substance use disorder.

Released: 8-Jan-2020 4:20 PM EST
Shifting Clinic Culture to Address the Opioid Epidemic
Tufts University

At a family medicine clinic in the Boston area, a team led by faculty from Tufts University School of Medicine conducted a five-year case study where they found medical facilities can help physicians to treat chronic pain in a way that will deter opioid misuse, while creating better processes to identify and treat patients who develop an opioid use disorder.

Released: 8-Jan-2020 3:45 PM EST
This drug could save their lives, but less than 2% of them get it
Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan

Only a tiny minority of people at risk for an opioid overdose actually are prescribed a drug that could save their lives, a new study suggests. And the odds of having a dose of the rescue drug were very low among some of the most at-risk groups, including those who had already survived a previous opioid overdose.

Released: 7-Jan-2020 10:50 AM EST
Research shows nasal spray antidote is easiest to give for opioid overdose
Binghamton University, State University of New York

Of three possible ways for people to deliver the life-saving antidote naloxone to a person experiencing an opioid overdose, the use of a nasal spray was the quickest and easiest according to research conducted by William Eggleston, clinical assistant professor at Binghamton University, State University of New York, and colleagues at SUNY Upstate Medical University.

Released: 6-Jan-2020 1:10 PM EST
Forensic Chemist Detects Marijuana-Use Based on Sweat Test
University at Albany, State University of New York

Jan Halámek is proving that our own perspiration not only gives away how drunk we are – but if we are high, too.

   
27-Dec-2019 9:30 AM EST
When Automotive Assembly Plants Close, Deaths from Opioid Overdoses Rise
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Closing of local automotive assembly plants may lead to increases in deaths from opioid overdose, according to a study led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts General Hospital. The findings highlight fading economic opportunity as a driving factor in the ongoing national opioid epidemic, and build on previous research that links declining participation in the labor force to increased opioid use in the U.S. The findings are published today in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Released: 23-Dec-2019 12:05 AM EST
Parents: Turkey makes great leftovers—opioids do not
University of Michigan

Leftover prescription opioids pose big risks to kids, yet most parents keep their own and their child's unused painkillers even after they're no longer medically necessary for pain.

Released: 19-Dec-2019 11:05 AM EST
Opioid Self-management Practices and Potential Safety Risks Among Patients with Cancer
University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing

Despite a national opioid crisis, prescribed opioid analgesics remain a viable option for pain management for patients with cancer. In effect, patients with cancer represent one of the few groups excluded from most state legislation and policy initiatives on prescribing opioids as well as from opioid stewardship programs of many health systems. However, little is understood about oncology patients’ opioid self-management practices and potential safety risk that may stem from these practices.

Released: 16-Dec-2019 5:05 PM EST
Teen Overdoses From Anxiety Drug Rising
Rutgers University-New Brunswick

The number of teens taking and overdosing from benzodiazepines, commonly prescribed anxiety medications, has risen dramatically over the past decade, according to a national study coauthored by Rutgers researchers.

12-Dec-2019 2:30 PM EST
Opioid Overdose Risk Factors for Teens, College-Aged Youth Same as Adults
Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan

Older teens may have similar risk factors for prescription opioid overdose as adults, a new study suggests.

Released: 10-Dec-2019 11:15 AM EST
Where Cannabis Is Legal, Americans Are More Likely to Believe It Has Benefits
Wolters Kluwer Health: Lippincott

Residents of states where cannabis has been legalized are more likely to believe it has beneficial effects - including health benefits in treatment of pain and anxiety or depression, reports a survey study in the Journal of Addiction Medicine, the official journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM). The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

Released: 10-Dec-2019 9:00 AM EST
FAU and Georgia State Partner to Assist Children and Families Affected by Addiction
Florida Atlantic University

FAU and GSU have partnered on a program to assist children and families affected by addiction. They have received a $2.64 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for a program aimed at improving outcomes of Georgia’s children and families and strengthening the partnership between the Division of Family and Children Services and family treatment courts.

Released: 9-Dec-2019 2:35 PM EST
Researchers receive nearly $5 million to curb opioid cravings
Penn State College of Medicine

Two researchers from Penn State College of Medicine have received nearly $5 million from the National Institutes of Health to study whether an already-approved drug can be used to reduce cravings and prevent relapse in those struggling with opioid addiction.

Released: 9-Dec-2019 11:15 AM EST
Regional Trends in Overdose Deaths Reveal Multiple Opioid Epidemics, According to New Study
Iowa State University

A recently published study shows the United States in the grip of several simultaneously occurring opioid epidemics, rather than just a single crisis. The epidemics came to light after the researchers analyzed county-level data on drug overdose deaths. The study highlights the importance of different policy responses to the epidemics rather than a single set of policies.

   


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