Feature Channels: Drugs and Drug Abuse

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In the first study of its kind, researchers from NYU Grossman School of Medicine and Wake Forest University School of Medicine analyzed the trend of rising opioid/stimulant deaths by racial/ethnic groups and by state. Findings indicated that while overdose deaths from opioids and stimulants rose across all racial groups and across the country, opioid/stimulant deaths among Black Americans increased at more than three times the rate as non-Hispanic white people—particularly in eastern states.

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In a first-ever study, researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine examined the unintentional drug overdose mortality in Years of Life Lost among adolescents and young people in the United States. Study findings are published online in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

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Here are some of the latest articles we've posted in the Behavioral Science channel.

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A study is the first to evaluate the utility of online drug use forums as an early indicator of impending novel psychoactive substances (NPS) intoxications with potentially harmful or lethal outcomes before they happen. Results showed that seven of the eight NPS in the study appeared on Reddit discussions prior to their implication in poisonings or intoxications. These forums in the virtual world can help predict changes in exposures associated with new or re-emerging NPS in the real world, with potential to be used in early warning systems.

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The latest research news from the Health Disparities Channel.

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Neighborhoods with more opioid overdoses have higher rates of child welfare investigations and confirmed cases of child maltreatment, a new study in Ohio finds.

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Rapid, accessible and highly accurate detection of addictive substances such as opiates and cocaine is vital to reducing the adverse personal and societal impacts of addiction, something current drug detection systems can take too long to provide. However, on-site, real-time monitoring of abused drugs in a patient’s system could alert clinicians before dangerous levels are reached, and such an approach may not be far away.

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It is not uncommon for people with opioid-related conditions, including opioid dependence and opioid use disorder (OUD), to be regularly hospitalized to treat infections, trauma, or other emergent conditions. Data show that patients with substance use disorders (SUD) are much more likely to self-discharge against medical advice than patients admitted for similar conditions without SUDs. This can lead to poorer health outcomes including worsening illness, readmissions, and death.

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Parkdale Center and American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) further solidified their partnership with upgrades to the AANA Helpline that offers support and assistance for substance use disorder (SUD) to Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) and students enrolled in nurse anesthesia programs.

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The accomplished researcher in addiction and substance use disorders also will serve as the Greg Brown Endowed Chair in Neuroscience and Cell Biology and as a tenured professor in the department of psychiatry at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

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A study in mice led by UCLA researchers shows that removing chemical messengers in the brain that are involved in both wakefulness and addiction may make withdrawal from opioids easier and help prevent relapse.

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Living in an Oxford House recovery home can protect at-risk populations from COVID-19, according to new research from DePaul University.

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Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System have been awarded a three-year, $447,000 grant to grow their addiction medicine education and training programs for medical students and residents. The grant, from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), will fund a new curriculum focused on the diagnosis and care for people with opioid use disorder (OUD), including guidance about medications for addiction treatment (MAT), particularly buprenorphine.

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The Latest Mental Health Research and Feature News in the Mental Health Channel on Newswise

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Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have developed a method to detect trace amounts of synthetic opioids. They plan to combine their approach with miniaturized sensors to create a hand-portable instrument easily used by law enforcement agents for efficient detection in the field.

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Using cannabis alongside other drugs may come with a significant risk of harmful drug-drug interactions, new research by scientists at Washington State University suggests.

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The University of Texas at El Paso will develop a sustainable public health intervention to suppress human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in people who use drugs in the El Paso-Ciudad Juárez border region. The initiative will be funded by a $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

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Young adults who experienced trauma in childhood are more at risk for misusing prescription opioids, according to new research from the University of Georgia.

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In a special article published Online First in Anesthesiology, the official peer-reviewed journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, Editor-in-Chief Evan D. Kharasch, M.D., Ph.D., Editor J. David Clark, M.D., Ph.D., and former U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, M.D., M.P.H., introduced their groundbreaking new concept, a prescription opioid ecosystem, to combat the opioid crisis and the opioid paradox.

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The majority of individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) face access barriers to evidence-based treatment. While the COVID-19 pandemic offered an opportunity to address OUD treatment access barriers by allowing for expanded use of telehealth, is it not yet clear if this technology will help eliminate those barriers or exacerbate pre-existing treatment inequities.

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A research team at the University of Washington has developed a wearable device to detect and reverse an opioid overdose. The device, worn on the stomach like an insulin pump, senses when a person stops breathing and moving, and injects naloxone, a lifesaving antidote that can restore respiration.

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Indiana University School of Medicine faculty are expanding the school's psychiatry-based substance use disorder services for adolescents and their caregivers through a five-year, $2.7 million grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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Henry Ford Health System Sports Medicine team research shows that non-opioids provide effective pain relief following ACL reconstruction surgery. The study was recently published in The American Journal of Sports Medicine and lead researcher Dr. Vasilios (Bill) Moutzouros says the study's data is 'practice changing'.

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In the absence of consistent counseling from healthcare providers, women who are pregnant or breastfeeding are getting information on using cannabis from the retail marijuana workers known as budtenders, according to a study led by Celestina Barbosa-Leiker, vice-chancellor for research at Washington State University Health Sciences.

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A five-year, $2.59 million grant from the National Institutes of Health will allow a psychology professor at Binghamton University, State University of New York to study the mechanisms of addiction.

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Even as the opioid epidemic dominated national attention over the past decade, the rate of overdose deaths involving cocaine, methamphetamine and other stimulants tripled, a new study in veterans suggests.

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The findings suggest the new no-prosecution policies did not result in increased public complaints about drug use or sex work in Baltimore, and that those who had charges dropped did not go on to commit serious crimes.

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The results of several new studies focusing on sex differences in pain and addiction indicate females could be more susceptible to drug addiction and addiction-like behaviors than males.

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The extract of the plant Corydalis yanhusuo prevents morphine tolerance and dependence while also reversing opiate addiction, according to a recent study led by the University of California, Irvine. The findings were published in the October issue of the journal Pharmaceuticals.

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Smokers, those with bipolar disorder, depression, pulmonary hypertension at higher risk for persistent opioid use, study finds.

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Recent studies by the University of Kentucky's HEALing Communities Study (Helping to End Addiction Long-term) researchers show a notable rise in opioid overdose death rates among non-Hispanic Black individuals.

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College students who misuse stimulant drugs or nootropics like Adderall or Ritalin are also likely to drink heavily and use other drugs, according to new research from the University of Georgia.

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Researchers describe how withdrawal from nicotine, methamphetamine and cocaine alters the functional architecture and patterns in the brains of mice, compared to control animals, a key to developing addiction treatments.

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While many people focus on the role of drugs in overdose deaths, a recent study shows that deaths where drugs were a contributing cause are also on the rise.

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According to three studies presented at the 2021 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), using cannabis before total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and total hip arthroplasty (THA) can lead to increased complications, longer hospital stays, higher rates of adverse events, increased readmissions, and higher costs.