When communities face epidemics of drug abuse, a wave of infectious diseases often follows, including hepatitis and HIV. A new federally-funded program in southern West Virginia, led by West Virginia University, will seek to interrupt that cycle.
African-Americans are more likely to experience debilitating migraine headaches than whites, but a new study probing the issue found no evidence of racial disparities in treatment practices. Instead, researchers report a different finding that affects everyone: opioid overuse.
The single biggest factor determining whether a patient is likely to use opioids long term may be the number of days’ supply initially prescribed, according to a study by UAMS researchers.
While marijuana use amongst youth remains stable, youth admission to substance abuse treatment facilities has increased, according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York.
President Donald Trump declaring the opioid epidemic a national emergency is an important statement and first step toward admitting a problem, said an expert on opioid addiction at Washington University in St. Louis, while warning that without science-informed solutions and plans of action, the epidemic will worsen.The nation has seen three drug epidemics, said David Patterson Silver Wolf, associate professor at the Brown School and an expert on substance use disorder treatment services.
When drug users go online for the first time to buy opioids, they aren’t looking for the widest selection or the best prices for their illicit purchases, a new study suggests. Researchers found that first-time drug buyers who visited one marketplace on the “darknet” cared only about finding trustworthy sellers.
Since 2009, hospital intensive care units have witnessed a stark increase in opioid-related admissions and deaths, according to new study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center's (BIDMC) Center for Healthcare Delivery Science. Published online today ahead of print in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society, the study is believed to be the first to quantify the impact of opioid abuse on critical care resources in the United States.
The opioid crisis in the United States is resulting in increased admissions to hospital intensive care units and in increased numbers of ICU deaths from opioid overdoses, according to new research published online, ahead of print in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.
Access to counseling for patients, mentoring for physicians could help increase use, survey says
A grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse is funding an innovative, experiential learning program at Northern Arizona University that has successfully trained dozens of students in specialized research methods in the area of adolescent drug abuse.The program is offered through the University of South Florida’s Institute for Translational Research Education in Adolescent Drug Abuse (ITRE).
Anyone who walked into Monday’s morning symposium, “Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS) in Emergency Toxicology” thinking that NPS are not a growing threat to public health were quickly disavowed of that notion. Speakers Jennifer Colby, PhD, and Kai Li, MD, described various compounds, including the drug U-47700, which is a synthetic super-opioid that causes extreme euphoria and respiratory depression, frequently leading to adverse effects, including death.
Researchers have discovered new methods that could improve treatment for infectious diseases by enabling earlier detection of influenza outbreaks and curtailing inappropriate antibiotic usage. The findings were presented today at the 69th AACC Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo in San Diego.
Researchers have shown that a new genetic test could potentially help stem the tide of the opioid epidemic by predicting which patients are at risk of abusing prescription opioids. These findings were presented for the first time at the 69th AACC Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo in San Diego.
A new study shows that a change in policy placing more restrictions on all hydrocodone-containing drugs has successfully decreased the use of certain opioids such as Vicodin. This research and a second study illuminating regional drug use trends in Canada were announced today at the 69th AACC Annual Scientific Meeting in San Diego, and could help to guide future strategies for combatting addiction.
Despite being saddled with many factors associated with drug and alcohol problems, undocumented immigrants are not increasing the prevalence of drug and alcohol crimes and deaths in the United States, according to a new University of Wisconsin-Madison study published in the American Journal of Public Health.
A new light-trapping sensor, developed by a University at Buffalo-led team of engineers and described in an Advanced Optical Materials study, makes infrared absorption more sensitive, inexpensive and versatile. It may improve scientists’ ability use to sleuth out performance-enhancing drugs in blood samples, tiny particles of explosives in the air and more.
At the 69th AACC Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo—the premier global conference and exhibit for laboratory medicine—visionaries in the field will illuminate the pioneering research and technology paving the way for better clinical testing and patient care. From July 30–August 3 in San Diego, the meeting will feature more than 200 talks on a broad range of timely healthcare topics. Highlights of these include plenaries that explore transforming biology using CRISPR engineering and new applications for DNA sequencing; preserving fertility in young people with cancer; how clinical testing can help solve public health crises; and a session that uncovers the precision diagnostics that are creating a digital health revolution.
Talon, 11, contracted hepatitis C from his birth mother's opioid addiction. After enrolling into a clinical drug trial offered at Seattle Children's, Talon is now free of both the virus and social stigma.
More than 130,000 Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) surgeries take place each year with the majority of patients not requiring pain medication after three months post-operatively. However, researchers presenting their work at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine’s Annual Meeting today in Toronto, Ontario, Canada found that those patients who were filling opioid prescriptions prior to surgery were 10 times more likely to be filling prescriptions five months after surgery.
Fear of being arrested still undercuts an Indiana law that shields anyone who administers naloxone from criminal charges, according to a survey conducted by two researchers at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Naloxone is a lifesaving emergency antidote for opioid overdose.
The use of medication to treat attention deficient hyperactivity disorder is linked to significantly lower risk for substance use problems in adolescents and adults with ADHD, according to a study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry and led by Indiana University.
A definitive guide to the findings from cutting-edge clinical research on addiction to front-line clinicians is found in a new book, Integrating Psychological and Pharmacological Treatments for Addictive Disorders published by Routledge.
Johns Hopkins scientists report that data collected over five years by volunteers who tested pills free of charge at music festivals and raves across the United States suggest that at least some recreational users of illegal drugs may choose not to take them if tests show the pills are adulterated or fake.
The use of opioids in management of cancer pain and palliative care is widely accepted. The use of opioids to treat chronic non-cancer pain is more controversial. Some of the consequences of long term opioid therapy are physical and psychological dependence, abuse, and addiction. The objective of the treatment of chronic pain is maintaining functionality and continued participation in society. The 2011 report from the Institute of Medicine revealed that 100 million Americans live with chronic pain.
In a small study of opioid prescriptions filled at a Johns Hopkins Medicine outpatient pharmacy, researchers found that handwritten orders for the drugs contribute heavily to a trio of prescribing and processing errors in contrast to those created electronically.
UND Clinical Social Worker Thomasine Heitkamp scores $3.8 million grant to combat drug addiction
Due in part to the opioid drug epidemic, a degree in social work has become an even hotter ticket to a job.
Psychological support and new coping skills are helping patients at high risk of developing chronic pain and long-term, high-dose opioid use taper their opioids.
A new study reinforces long-held suspicions that the brain chemical serotonin, a molecule usually associated with mood, appetite and libido, makes a direct contribution to the actions of cocaine. Scientists can now clearly see details of how the brain uses serotonin not just to regulate mood, but also to drive both rapid and long-lasting changes in the brain. They suspect these changes may contribute to the brain modifications that ultimately trap users in an addicted state.
Fifty-one percent of all opioid medications distributed in the U.S. each year are prescribed to adults with mood disorders such as depression and anxiety, according to new research from the University of Michigan and the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.
University of Iowa researchers have identified a brain region involved in cocaine addiction. The findings could lead to targeted drugs or improved behavioral treatments for substance addiction, including opioid dependency. Findings published in the Journal of Neuroscience.
With the opioid epidemic growing, some people are turning to an unusual and very dangerous alternative: taking massive doses of a common antidiarrheal drug called loperamide, often sold over the counter under the brand name Imodium.
This study investigated whether children whose mothers had an alcohol-related disorder would be at risk of early-life contact with the justice system, which can lead to many negative outcomes across an individual’s life span. Such outcomes can include repeated contact with the justice system, social disadvantages and marginalization, and mental-health and substance-use issues.
Among Medicaid patients taking opioids for chronic pain, the risk of fatal overdose rises steadily with daily opioid dose, reports a study in the July issue of Medical Care. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.
Heroin use in the United States was estimated to cost society more than $51 billion in 2015, according to new research at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
ROCHESTER, Minn. —Mayo Clinic researchers report that women who suffered adverse childhood experiences or abuse as an adult are 62 percent more likely to have their ovaries removed before age 46. These removals are for reasons other than the presence of ovarian cancer or a high genetic risk of developing cancer, says the new study published today in BMJ Open.
This is the first vaccine against an opioid to pass this stage of preclinical testing.
Adults who smoke marijuana often cut back after becoming parents — but they don’t necessarily quit.
A new position statement advocates for alternative-to-discipline approach for those in the nursing community who have a substance use disorder.
A new cost-benefit analysis conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and others suggests that $6 million in costs related to the opioid epidemic could be saved each year if a single “safe consumption” space for illicit drug users were opened in Baltimore.
Recreational use of cannabis—including marijuana, hashish, and hash oil—increases the risk of gum disease, says a study by Columbia University dental researchers.
With increasing reports of and concerns about opioid abuse, there are actions toxicologists can take to help prevent and treat the problem.
The Federation of State Medical Boards releases its updated guidelines for the chronic use of opioid analgesics.
Forests in Central America are diminishing at alarming rates for reasons you would never suspect.
Patients who received their first opioid prescription for an ankle sprain treated in U.S. emergency departments commonly received prescriptions for anywhere from 15 to 40 pills, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Those who received 30 or more pills compared to less than 15 pills were twice as likely to fill an additional opioid prescription within three to six months. The authors say the results point to the urgent need for policies and guidelines to address when opioid medications are indicated for minor injuries and to reduce the number of pills supplied for opioid prescriptions.
Researchers surveyed individuals entering NYC EDM parties about their drug usage, with almost one out of ten participants who reported no “bath salt” use as per the gate question then reported use of one or more drugs in this class, such as methylone, providing evidence of under-reporting.
RSS
Medicine keyboard_arrow_right
Sciencekeyboard_arrow_right
Life keyboard_arrow_right
Business keyboard_arrow_right
Journal News keyboard_arrow_right
By Location keyboard_arrow_right
Meetings, Grants, and Events keyboard_arrow_right