Heroin News and Research

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Heroin is a very addictive chemical called diacetylmorphine. Heroin is a modified form of morphine, a highly abundant opium derived from the seedpods of the poppy plant.

Longer looks: Embarrassing accolades; Mapping the brain; Physician pay

Medicine honors its heroes in many ways. But sometimes high accolades can turn out to be highly embarrassing. Consider the annual award for lifetime achievement in preventing and controlling sexual infections, given since 1972 by the American Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association.

5 Apr 2013

Correctional policies discourage released inmates from seeking methadone therapy, researchers say

Methadone treatment for opioid dependence remains widely unavailable behind bars in the United States, and many inmates are forced to discontinue this evidence-based therapy, which lessens painful withdrawal symptoms.

30 Mar 2013

Junk food during pregnancy changes development of opioid signaling pathway in the baby's brain

Here's another reason why a healthy diet during pregnancy is critical to the future health of your children: New research published in the March 2013 issue of The FASEB Journal, suggests that pregnant mothers who consume junk food actually cause changes in the development of the opioid signaling pathway in the brains of their unborn children.

1 Mar 2013

Annual deaths related to heroin and morphine continue to drop in the UK

Annual deaths related to heroin and morphine are continuing to drop significantly, falling from 41 per cent of total drug-related deaths in the UK in 2010 to 32 per cent in 2011. Meanwhile, deaths from 'legal highs' - some of which have now been banned - remained steady following a large increase in the previous year.

28 Feb 2013

IOM proposes state, FDA actions to stop growth of counterfeit drugs

The Institute of Medicine Wednesday urged a series regulatory changes to help protect the public against buying fake or poorly made drugs.

15 Feb 2013

Study: OEND effectively addresses epidemic of fatal opioid overdose

In a study of communities in Massachusetts with high numbers of opioid overdose deaths, the implementation of overdose education and naloxone distribution (OEND) was associated with a significant reduction in opioid overdose death rates.

2 Feb 2013

Parents not very concerned about misuse of narcotic pain medicines by children and teens

Despite data on rising rates of abuse and overdoses of narcotic pain medicines across all age groups, in a new poll from the University of Michigan, most parents said they are not very concerned about misuse of these medicines by children and teens.

24 Jan 2013

Possible connection between mitochondrial CYP2D6 and Parkinson's

With a new insight into a model of Parkinson's disease, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have identified a novel target for mitigating some of the disease's toll on the brain.

19 Jan 2013

Substance abuse negatively affects sexual performance in men even after years of abstinence

Researchers at the University of Granada, Spain, and Santo Tomas University in Colombia have found that drug abuse negatively affects sexual performance in men even after years of abstinence. This finding contradicts other studies reporting that men spontaneously recovered their normal sexual performance at three weeks after quitting substance abuse.

19 Jan 2013

Cost-effectiveness findings for naloxone revealed

Researchers have found that naloxone distribution to heroin users could reduce the number of deaths from overdose while being cost-effective.

4 Jan 2013

Recreational use of HIV drugs leading to pre-treatment resistance in South Africa

NPR's "Shots" blog examines how "opportunists who market street drugs may be undermining the global struggle against AIDS," writing, "In South Africa, two mainstay HIV drugs have found their way into recreational use."

20 Dec 2012

Accidental exposure to buprenorphine can make children extremely sick

Buprenorphine is a safe and effective drug for treating opioid addiction. But as the prescribed use of buprenorphine has dramatically increased in recent years, accidental exposure of children to the drug has risen sharply, placing them at risk for serious injury and in extremely rare cases even death, according to researchers at the Utah Poison Control Center (UPCC), U School of Medicine's Department of Family and Preventive Health, and the Utah Department of Health (UDOH).

15 Dec 2012

Naltrexone may help avoid weight gain among women smokers

A medication being tested to help smokers kick the habit also may help avoid the weight gain that is common after quitting but only in women, according to a study published in the December issue of Biological Psychiatry. This is the first medication shown to reduce weight gain for up to one year in women smokers who quit.

11 Dec 2012

Prescribing opioids lead to admissions for substance abuse treatment and deaths

A Viewpoint article published recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that the clinical practice of prescribing amphetamines, opioids, and benzodiazepines to treat chronic pain may be contributing to the increase in fatal drug overdoses and the likelihood that those drugs will be diverted to the illegal market.

6 Dec 2012

Roundup: Disparity in states' fiscal health; Ark. Medicaid shortfall threatens care; Mich. Blue Cross pushes to become nonprofit

Factors such as growing unfunded pension liabilities and burgeoning fixed costs related to programs like Medicaid are weighing down weaker states, while stronger states are benefiting from improved business conditions and strong employment growth, he said. A closer look at some specific metrics shows this fiscal disparity.

15 Nov 2012