Feature Channels: Substance Abuse

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Released: 13-Jun-2023 2:50 PM EDT
Opioid Use Disorder Patients Report Higher Rates of Suicidality, PCOM Study Finds
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

More than 37% of adults receiving office-based treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) reported experiencing suicidal thoughts over their lifetime, and 27% reported attempting suicide, rates that are “notably higher” than the general population, according to a Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine study that also identifies predictors for suicidality in people with OUD. The findings may better identify at-risk patients and inform mental health prevention and treatment efforts.

Released: 12-Jun-2023 8:10 PM EDT
Fatal overdoses increase after police seize drugs, study finds
Brown University

For decades, efforts by police to seize illicit drugs have been a cornerstone strategy for disrupting drug markets and removing drugs from communities. But there’s an unintended outcome when opioids are seized, a new study finds — increases in overdoses, including those that are fatal.

   
Released: 12-Jun-2023 2:00 PM EDT
Bloomberg School Media Briefing on the Purdue Pharma Opioid Settlement: What Happens Next
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is hosting an expert briefing for the media from 2:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. EDT, Thursday, June 15, on the recent Purdue Pharma ruling that shields the Sackler family from current and future civil lawsuits in exchange for contributing up to $6 billion to states and communities to fight the opioid epidemic.

   
8-Jun-2023 7:05 AM EDT
Pandemic Alcohol Use Linked to Nervous System Disruption in Pregnant and Postpartum Women, Hinting at Novel Clinical Biomarker and Intervention Potential
Research Society on Alcoholism

Increased alcohol use among pregnant and postpartum women during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with autonomic nervous system dysregulation, known to negatively affect resilience to change and further exacerbate the risk of stress-related mental health disorders and substance use, a new study suggests. The findings, although preliminary, underline the potential for a new clinical biomarker and novel personalized mobile health apps in facilitating treatment interventions. Previous research linked the pandemic to increased stress levels and drinking, including in pregnant and postpartum women. Alcohol use, and stress-related conditions such as depression and anxiety, are associated with dysregulation in the feedback loop between the body and the brain. This process involves the peripheral autonomic nervous system, which regulates the heartbeat. Healthy, resilient people tend to have higher heart rate variability than people with stress and substance use disorders. Heart rate variab

   
Newswise: Fostering acceptance of sexual minorities in the Hispanic community
Released: 5-Jun-2023 4:00 PM EDT
Fostering acceptance of sexual minorities in the Hispanic community
University of Miami

A new intervention developed by a team of researchers and led by Guillermo “Willy” Prado, professor of nursing and health studies at the University of Miami, aims to curb devastating mental health trends and drug use among Hispanic youth who identify as sexual minorities.

   

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This news release is embargoed until 2-Jun-2023 11:00 AM EDT Released to reporters: 1-Jun-2023 8:00 AM EDT

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Released: 1-Jun-2023 1:35 PM EDT
Fentanyl Can Be Weaponized. Preparation Could Minimize the Damage.
Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Rutgers experts have identified risks and created a basic strategy for protecting public health.

Released: 31-May-2023 5:20 PM EDT
University of Maryland School of Medicine Receives One of the Largest Gifts in its History to Establish Kahlert Institute for Addiction Medicine
University of Maryland School of Medicine

With an urgent mission to address the alarming rise in drug overdose deaths, the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) has announced plans to open the new Kahlert Institute for Addiction Medicine.

Newswise: Do people who use fentanyl test strips practice more overdose risk reduction behaviors than people who don't?
Released: 31-May-2023 4:20 PM EDT
Do people who use fentanyl test strips practice more overdose risk reduction behaviors than people who don't?
Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

Leveraging the HEALing Communities Study infrastructure, researchers are testing whether there is an association between fentanyl test strip use and overdose risk reduction behaviors among people who use drugs over a 28-day observation period. The Stay Safe Study will be in Kentucky, Ohio and New York.

Newswise: New findings reveal impact of changing environment for patients with cancer prescribed opioids
Released: 31-May-2023 7:05 AM EDT
New findings reveal impact of changing environment for patients with cancer prescribed opioids
Yale Cancer Center/Smilow Cancer Hospital

In response to the opioid epidemic in the United States, interventions to prevent over-prescribing and misuse of opioids were enacted at institutional, state, and federal levels. To assess how changes in the prescribing landscape affected patients, a research team from the Yale COPPER Center examined the rates of both new and persistent opioid prescribing in patients with cancer as well as in patients without cancer, utilizing data from SEER-Medicare.

18-May-2023 12:40 PM EDT
New treatment helps people stop addictive opioid painkillers used for chronic pain
University of Warwick

Researchers at the University of Warwick and The James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough have led a clinical trial, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), on a new treatment which can help people stop needing to use opioid painkillers to manage chronic pain.

Released: 19-May-2023 11:05 AM EDT
NJ Medicaid Reforms Tied to Increased Use of Opioid Addiction Treatment
Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Rutgers study shows higher number of caregivers prescribing buprenorphine

Released: 19-May-2023 9:00 AM EDT
Penn Medicine to Open New Crisis Response Center as Part of a Unified Mental Health Care Hub at Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania – Cedar Avenue
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Penn Medicine is launching a new community mental health hub at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania — Cedar Avenue (HUP Cedar), co-locating inpatient and outpatient psychiatric care with a new crisis response center (CRC) at the facility. The multi-year plan will put crucial psychiatric and substance use care in easy reach for West and Southwest Philadelphia residents, at a time when both mental illness and drug and alcohol dependence are surging in the city.

Released: 12-May-2023 4:20 PM EDT
University of Kentucky physicians push for standard-of-care opioid treatment for incarcerated patients
University of Kentucky

In a recently published commentary, UK HealthCare physicians call for standard-of-care treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) among patients who are incarcerated.

Released: 12-May-2023 3:30 PM EDT
Immigration Nation: Research and Experts
Newswise

Title 42, the United States pandemic rule that had been used to immediately deport hundreds of thousands of migrants who crossed the border illegally over the last three years, has expired. Those migrants will have the opportunity to apply for asylum. President Biden's new rules to replace Title 42 are facing legal challenges. Border crossings have already risen sharply, as many migrants attempt to cross before the measure expires on Thursday night. Some have said they worry about tighter controls and uncertainty ahead. Immigration is once again a major focus of the media as we examine the humanitarian, political, and public health issues migrants must go through.

       
9-May-2023 3:05 PM EDT
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Get your mental health news here
Newswise

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Get your mental health news here.

Released: 10-May-2023 2:05 PM EDT
Risk of opioid toxicity death is many times higher for people who experience incarceration
McMaster University

Burden of opioid toxicity death in the fentanyl-dominant era for people who experience incarceration in Ontario, Canada, 2015–2020: a whole population retrospective cohort study.

Released: 9-May-2023 8:30 AM EDT
Fentanyl, Heroin Use Substantially Decline In Patients Receiving Methadone Treatment For Opioid Use Disorder During First Year
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

A new study led by a Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researcher found that the percent of patients treated for opioid use disorder with methadone significantly decreased their use of fentanyl during a year of treatment. The percent who tested positive for fentanyl declined on average from 21.8 percent in week one to 17.1 percent in week 52.

Released: 4-May-2023 11:30 AM EDT
Government of Canada invests $6.5 million in research to support the health and mental wellbeing of young children
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

The Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, announced an investment of $6.5 million over five years for six projects funded through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Mental Health in the Early Years (MHITEY) initiative. MHITEY, led by the CIHR’s Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health, will help to advance Canada’s mental health strategy by identifying solutions for safe and equitable programs and services for diverse populations, and through adopting, adapting and improving the use of evidence-based practices in clinical, community, and public health settings.

Newswise: Discovery suggests route to safer pain medications
2-May-2023 3:00 PM EDT
Discovery suggests route to safer pain medications
Washington University in St. Louis

Strategies to treat pain without triggering dangerous side effects such as euphoria and addiction have proven elusive. Now scientists at Washington University School of Medicine have identified a potential pathway to pain relief that neither triggers addiction nor causes hallucinations.

Released: 3-May-2023 10:10 AM EDT
Few Waivered Clinicians Prescribed Buprenorphine: New Study
George Washington University

A new study found a declining proportion of DATA-waivered clinicians prescribed any buprenorphine between 2017 and 2021. While the number of waivered clinicians increased significantly during the five-year window, only one out of three prescribed any buprenorphine as of May 2021. Furthermore, the majority of prescriptions were written by clinicians who specialize in treating opioid use disorder. The new study was published as a research letter in JAMA.

Released: 2-May-2023 1:40 PM EDT
How hallucinogenic substance in psilocybin mushrooms works on the molecular level
University of Southern Denmark

Psilocybin is a hallucinogenic compound found in about 200 mushroom species, including the liberty cap (Psilocybe semilanceata).

   
Released: 1-May-2023 1:00 PM EDT
Expert calls for reforms to address the overdose crisis
Mass General Brigham

At the end of 2022, the federal government eliminated the “X waiver,” a major hurdle to providing addiction treatment, but progress needs to be continued, according to the authors of a new Perspective piece published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Released: 27-Apr-2023 6:55 PM EDT
Connect, Unplug and Do Good: Wellness Tips for Substance Use and Mental Health Recovery
Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Wellness is big business, and every year millions of people commit to living happier, healthier lives. But for people with substance use and mental health disorders, the concept of wellness isn’t a typical part of recovery. Margaret Swarbrick, professor and associate director of the Rutgers Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies, is working to change that. Her latest contribution, “Journey to Wellness,” is an easy-to-use 20-page guide co-created with people in recovery.

   
Released: 27-Apr-2023 6:55 PM EDT
Trauma-Informed Education Could Improve Outcomes for Justice-Involved Black Adolescents
Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Sexual and substance use education that incorporates knowledge about trauma could improve developmental outcomes among justice-involved Black youth, according to a Rutgers study published in the journal Children and Youth Services Review.

   
Released: 25-Apr-2023 5:05 PM EDT
Estimated 6.5 million Californians know someone at risk of harming themselves, others
UC Davis Health

One in five adults in California, or an estimated 6.5 million people, are concerned that someone they know, usually a friend or family member, is at risk of harming themselves or others, according to new research published in Preventive Medicine. Alcohol and substance misuse, a history of violence, and firearm access were common reasons for concerns about potential violence.

Released: 25-Apr-2023 12:05 PM EDT
Study: Treatment for opioid addiction lags despite policies designed to increase it
Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan

Treating opioid addiction should be much easier now than it was a few years ago, thanks to pandemic-era rule changes that aim to improve access to buprenorphine, a medicine proven to help in recovery. But a new study shows prescriptions and adherence rates have remained flat.

Released: 24-Apr-2023 6:05 PM EDT
UCLA Health seeks participants for first-of-its-kind study using injectable buprenorphine to treat methamphetamine use disorder and opioid co-use
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences

UCLA Health investigators are leading a new, six-city trial of injectable buprenorphine for treatment of methamphetamine use disorder in adults who also use opioids.

Newswise:Video Embedded live-event-for-april-21-sleeping-pill-reduces-levels-of-alzheimer-s-proteins
VIDEO
Released: 21-Apr-2023 3:10 PM EDT
TRANSCRIPT AND VIDEO AVAILABLE Live Event for April 21: Sleeping pill reduces levels of Alzheimer’s proteins
Newswise

Researcher will discuss the study which involved a sleeping aid known as suvorexant that is already approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for insomnia, hints at the potential of sleep medications to slow or stop the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

       
Released: 21-Apr-2023 2:45 PM EDT
Finnish population-based study: Vulnerable groups were the least likely to uptake COVID-19 vaccination
University of Helsinki

A large-scale registry study in Finland has identified several factors associated with uptake of the first dose of COVID-19 vaccination. In particular, persons with low or no labor income and persons with mental health or substance abuse issues were less likely to vaccinate.

Released: 21-Apr-2023 10:05 AM EDT
Cerebral palsy patients at higher risk of receiving opioid prescriptions
Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan

Opioids are commonly prescribed as an all-purpose pain killer for patients with the condition

Newswise:Video Embedded even-worms-get-the-munchies
VIDEO
19-Mar-2023 11:05 AM EDT
Even Worms Get the Munchies
University of Oregon

A study, led by University of Oregon neuroscientist Shawn Lockery, points to worms as a useful tool for understanding more about the many roles that cannabinoids naturally play in the body. And it could help researchers develop better drugs that target this system.

   
Released: 18-Apr-2023 8:30 PM EDT
School prevalence of stimulant therapy for ADHD associated with higher rates of prescription stimulant misuse among teens
NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Researchers have identified a strong association between prevalence of prescription stimulant therapy for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and rates of prescription stimulant misuse (taken in a way other than as directed by a clinician) by students in middle and high schools.

Released: 18-Apr-2023 2:00 PM EDT
When both mom and dad maltreat their child
Ohio State University

About one in five cases of child abuse and neglect is committed by both mothers and fathers, but nearly all the research attention has been focused on when just one parent is involved. A new study that aimed to shine a light on risk factors for mistreatment coming from both parents found some surprising results.

Released: 18-Apr-2023 6:00 AM EDT
هل تؤثر العقاقير أفيونية المفعول التي تُصرف بوصفة طبية على الوظائف الإدراكية لدى البالغين الأكبر سنًا؟
Mayo Clinic

قد يكون لاستخدام الأدوية أفيونية المفعول التي تُصرف بوصفة طبية تأثير سلبي على الوظائف الإدراكية لدى البالغين الأكبر سنًا، وذلك وفقًا لدراسة حديثة أجرتها مايو كلينك، نُشرت في مجلة الجمعية الأمريكية لطب الشيخوخة.

Released: 14-Apr-2023 7:40 PM EDT
Offering medications for opioid addiction to incarcerated individuals leads to decrease in overdose deaths
Boston Medical Center

New research from Boston Medical Center concluded that offering medications to treat opioid addiction in jails and prisons leads to a decrease in overdose deaths. Published in JAMA Network Open, the study also found that treating opioid addiction during incarceration is cost-effective in terms of healthcare costs, incarceration costs, and deaths avoided.

Newswise: Research Reveals THC Concentration in Colorado Retail Cannabis Products is Lower than Advertised
Released: 12-Apr-2023 4:50 PM EDT
Research Reveals THC Concentration in Colorado Retail Cannabis Products is Lower than Advertised
University of Northern Colorado

While legal cannabis products in the United States are required to report THC potency levels on their packaging those levels aren't necessarily accurate, which can have important implications for cannabis consumers. According to a new study from the University of Northern Colorado’s Department of Biological Sciences, researchers Mitchell McGlaughlin and Anna Schwabe found that the THC potency values reported on the packaging of cannabis samples from dispensaries across Colorado’s Front Range are substantially over-reported.

Released: 12-Apr-2023 12:15 PM EDT
Millions with opioid addiction don't receive residential treatment
Northwestern University

First study to do apples-to-apples comparison of residential treatment use among Medicaid enrollees across several states

Newswise: Education and peer support cut binge-drinking by National Guard members in half, study shows
Released: 12-Apr-2023 12:05 AM EDT
Education and peer support cut binge-drinking by National Guard members in half, study shows
Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan

A new study shows promise for reducing risky drinking among Army National Guard members over the long term, potentially improving their health and readiness to serve. The number of days each month that Guard members said they had been binge-drinking dropped by up to half over the course of a year of either online only education or online and peer-based support.

   
Released: 10-Apr-2023 2:20 PM EDT
Can alcohol-associated burn injuries impair cognitive function?
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

The relationship between alcohol use and burn injuries is a negative one in multiple ways. Not only are about 50% of adults who sustain burn injuries intoxicated at the time of injury, suggesting that alcohol use may have contributed to the incident, but alcohol use among burn-injured patients is associated with more severe complications, delayed recovery, and increased morbidity and mortality.

Newswise: New UK data system will help predict and prevent opioid overdoses in Kentucky
Released: 10-Apr-2023 10:00 AM EDT
New UK data system will help predict and prevent opioid overdoses in Kentucky
University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky researchers are creating an innovative statewide surveillance system to inform prevention and response efforts aimed at reducing the burden of opioid use disorder in Kentucky. The Rapid Actionable Data for Opioid Response in Kentucky (RADOR-KY) will use data from federal, state, and local sources to guide evidence-based practices aimed at preventing opioid overdoses in the Commonwealth.

Released: 4-Apr-2023 1:35 PM EDT
Cocaine damage routinely misdiagnosed as nonthreatening nasal disease
Oxford University Press

A new paper in Rheumatology Advances in Practice, published by Oxford University Press, indicates that Granulomatosis With Polyangiitis, a nasal disease that causes inflammation of the blood vessels and commonly presents with symptoms in sinuses, throat, lungs, and kidneys, may be commonly misdiagnosed.

3-Apr-2023 10:35 AM EDT
UM-led study exposes barriers, safety concerns for medical cannabis use in Canada
University of Manitoba

A majority of Canadians who require medical cannabis are obtaining their products through the recreational market rather than the medical system, raising health and safety concerns, according to a massive new study led by a UM researcher.

Released: 3-Apr-2023 12:05 PM EDT
E-health reduces patient pain, opioids in clinical study
Washington State University

An online “e-health” program helped more people with chronic pain reduce their opioid medications and pain intensity than a control group that had only regular treatment in a recent clinical study.

Newswise: How to Get Narcan: The Lifesaving Drug for Opioid Overdose
Released: 31-Mar-2023 2:45 PM EDT
How to Get Narcan: The Lifesaving Drug for Opioid Overdose
Ochsner Health

Ochsner Health Doctor of Pharmacy discusses Narcan use and availability.

Released: 31-Mar-2023 10:05 AM EDT
Investigating the Impact of Prescribed Opioids, Benzodiazepines on Veterans
Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences Chancellor Brian Strom leads investigation of the medications’ co-prescription and veteran overdoses and deaths



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