Results of a recent study suggest that using an alternative MMA regimen of the pain relievers oral acetaminophen and gabapentin, as well as intravenous acetaminophen during surgery, is safe and more effective than conventional pain relief treatments that include opioids. The results were published in the print issue of JAMA on Sept. 1.
New research correlates inflammation in the brain and gut to negative emotional state during opioid withdrawal
An Oklahoma judge ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $572 million for its role in the opioid crisis in a historic ruling Aug. 26. A federal case in Ohio involves at least 1,600 lawsuits from cities and counties throughout the country. Oxycontin maker Purdue Pharma has offered to settle more than 2,000 lawsuits from states and cities for between $10 billion and $12 billion.
Alcohol and other drug intoxication in minors is a public health challenge. European surveys reveal that schoolchildren start drinking alcohol at an average age of 12, and a third of Spanish 14 to 18 year-olds admit to binge drinking ─ consuming five or more drinks per occasion ─ within the last month. Although alcohol is the most commonly abused substance among minors in Western countries, poly-drug use (often involving cannabis and alcohol) is increasingly common.
Women who experience intimate partner violence, including physical, emotional, and controlling abuse, are more likely to suffer material hardship – the inability to purchase food, housing, utilities, medical care or other needs for a healthy life, according to a Rutgers-led study.
Dr. Antonello Bonci, a world-renowned neuroscientist and pioneer of innovative brain stimulation techniques, will leave his position of 9 years as Scientific Director of NIDA to be a founder and president of the Global Institutes on Addictions (GIA) in Miami, Florida.
People who frequent electronic dance music (EDM) parties often use multiple drugs simultaneously and experience adverse effects with some ending up in the emergency department, say researchers at New York University School of Medicine and Rutgers University.
Patients receiving buprenorphine for treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) are more likely to use medications for chronic, unrelated conditions, suggests a study in the September issue of Medical Care. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.
A researcher from the University of Houston has found that adults who take prescription opioids for severe pain are more likely to have increased anxiety, depression and substance abuse issues if they also use marijuana.
It is well known that tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis use during pregnancy are associated with poor birth outcomes, yet many women continue to use these substances during pregnancy.
Posting on social media, texting, and appearing in photos while high is prevalent among people who use drugs—and many regret these behaviors, according to a study by the Center for Drug Use and HIV/HCV Research (CDUHR) at NYU College of Global Public Health.
AACC released a position statement today calling for increased collaboration between clinical laboratories, the healthcare community, and federal agencies to end the opioid epidemic. The statement emphasizes that labs are critical to preventing opioid abuse and urges the medical community and government to leverage the expertise of clinical laboratory professionals to curb soaring drug overdoses in the U.S.
Dr. Michelle Lofwall, professor of behavioral science and psychiatry in the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, is one of three national addiction physician experts who led a team of healthcare professionals in developing a new core curriculum designed to educate primary care providers on the prevention, assessment and treatment of substance use disorders (SUD) throughout the continuum of care.
Ketamine has gotten a bad rap as an opioid when there’s plenty of evidence suggesting it isn’t one, Johns Hopkins experts say. They believe this reputation may hamper patients from getting necessary treatment for the kinds of depression that don’t respond to typical antidepressants. In a new paper, the researchers clarify the mechanism behind ketamine’s mechanism of action in hopes of restoring the therapy’s standing among health care professionals and the public.
What happens when we give up? Inside the brain, a group of cells known as nociceptin neurons get very active before a mouse's breakpoint. They emit nociceptin, a complex molecule that suppresses dopamine, a chemical largely associated with motivation.
Patrick McGinley and Suzanne Weise represented pro bono the Charleston (West Virginia) Gazette-Mail and its parent company, HD Media, in a year-long federal court legal battle to force the public release of government information identifying the volume of prescription opioid pills that flooded the United States and fueled a national health crisis.
UK team believes their approach is a valuable step forward that will improve understanding of drug-use decisions and advance the development of improved treatments.
University of Utah Health researchers explored the need for continued substance abuse counseling and access to naloxone prescriptions and mental health care in the year following childbirth.
After a personal experience with a patient inspired him to make some changes, Dr. Phillip Chang worked with pharmacist Doug Oyler to initiate a small pilot study in UK HealthCare's trauma service with the goal of reducing opioid prescriptions. That small study has grown and created a "culture change" at UK HealthCare, drastically reducing the number of opioid prescriptions written and reducing high-risk opioid use by 57 percent.
Orthopaedic surgeons are the third-highest physician prescribers of opioids, writing more than 6 million prescriptions a year. Because over-dispensing of opioids is a factor contributing to the ongoing opioid epidemic, researchers at Johns Hopkins surveyed orthopaedic providers to better understand what drives their prescribing practices and to identify gaps in knowledge and potentially worrisome trends. In their survey of 127 orthopaedic providers in the Baltimore area, the Johns Hopkins researchers found that respondents frequently recommended prescribing a nine-day supply of around-the-clock oxycodone doses following commonly performed orthopaedic surgeries. The researchers also found that risk factors that might normally warrant prescribing fewer opioids, such as a history of drug misuse or depression, often did not diminish hypothetical prescribing rates.
A new supplement to the peer-reviewed journal Women’s Health Issues, sponsored by the Cooperative Studies Program of the Veterans Health Administration (VA) Office of Research and Development, examines sex and gender differences in U.S. veterans’ health conditions and responses to treatments.
Intimate partner violence (IPV) – commonly known as domestic violence, and long associated with drinking – is a significant public health problem. Examination of patients treated at urban Emergency Departments (EDs) shows that choice of drinking venues, such as bars or restaurants, and amount consumed there, appear to have little influence on IPV risk. These results and others will be shared at the 42nd annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) in Minneapolis June 22-26.
Tobacco dependence is very common in patients hospitalized with substance use disorders (SUDs) – but most don't receive recommended treatment for tobacco dependence while in the hospital, reports a 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.
Solving the opioid epidemic requires a “whole person” approach that includes nonpharmacological treatment for pain, as well as ensuring that people have the employment, education and housing supports they need for long-term recovery, the chief executive officer of the American Psychological Association told a congressional panel.
The death rate from drug- and alcohol-related causes in people who’ve had Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery is nearly triple that of the general public, according to University of Pittsburgh research published today in Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases.
Researchers say there’s a better way to take care of patients after C-sections to help them heal faster and manage pain without increasing their risk of long-term opioid use.
Simultaneous use of alcohol and marijuana is riskier than using either substance alone, because their effects can interact and cause excessive depression of the central nervous system. This can result in more negative consequences such as driving under the influence, accidents, cognitive impairment, and symptoms of substance use disorders, as well as alterations in mood and well-being.
A new study links the benefits of comprehensive oral care to the physical and emotional recovery of patients seeking treatment for substance use disorder.
Strict policies traditionally embraced by Asian nations to discourage illicit drug use are beginning to change
Babies exposed to opioids while their mothers were pregnant with them may need special care even before they start to experience withdrawal symptoms, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.
Alcohol and drug problems are often described as ‘chronically relapsing’ conditions, implying that multiple recovery attempts are needed before an addiction can be overcome for good. However, a new study by researchers at Harvard Medical School indicates that most people with an alcohol or drug problem achieve resolution after a surprisingly small number of serious quit attempts.
Surgical patients receiving the opioid tramadol have a somewhat higher risk of prolonged use than those receiving other common opioids, new Mayo Clinic research finds. However, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) classifies tramadol as a Schedule IV controlled substance, meaning it's considered to have a lower risk of addiction and abuse than Schedule II opioids, such as oxycodone and hydrocodone.
As states crack down on doctor and pharmacy “shopping” by people who misuse opioids, a new study reveals how often those individuals may still be able to find opioids to misuse in their family medicine cabinets. For every 200 patients prescribed opioids, one had a family member whose opioid-misuse problem led them to seek the drugs from multiple prescribers and multiple pharmacies.
Escaping the grip of opioid addiction doesn’t come easily for anyone. But a new study reveals sharp racial and financial divides in which Americans receive effective treatments for opioid addiction. Those differences have only grown larger as the national opioid crisis has intensified, the research shows.
Although opioids play a key role in reducing pain when recovering from surgery, some patients transition to chronic users and become dependent on them. In order to find out what situations result in patients continuing to refill their opioid prescriptions after a surgery, Johns Hopkins researchers scoured a database of more than 900,000 people who had a surgery scheduled and were prescribed opioids for the first time.
A day-long summit on opioid-related topics will focus on bringing findings from research and community-based efforts to those who can use them to make a difference in public policy and clinical practice.
One negative behavior such as substance abuse or heavy alcohol drinking can lead college students toward a vicious cycle of poor lifestyle choices, lack of sleep, mental distress and low grades, according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York.
Fentanyl’s powerful effects are long-lasting, and even tiny amounts of the drug can lead to an overdose. Antidotes, do not last long enough in the body to fully counter the drug, requiring repeated injections. Now, scientists report that they are developing single-dose, longer-lasting opioid antidotes.
Pregnant women who use cannabis may slightly increase the risk their unborn child will develop psychosis later in life, suggests new research from Washington University in St. Louis.
For reporters covering the recent suicides of two Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students and the father of a Sandy Hook victim, these psychologists are available to discuss issues associated with suicide, including underlying causes (such as trauma or suicide contagion), risk factors and assessment and treatment of at -risk individuals.
People under age 50 with hearing loss misuse prescription opioids at twice the rate of their hearing peers, and are also more likely to misuse alcohol and other drugs, a new national study finds. Health care providers may need to take special care when treating pain and mental health conditions in deaf and hard-of-hearing young adults.
A new study, published this month in Lancet HIV by Penn Medicine researchers, shows that a naltrexone implant placed under the skin was more effective at helping HIV-positive patients with an opioid addiction reduce relapse and have better HIV-related outcomes compared to the oral drug.
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