Opioids News and Research

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An opioid is a chemical that works by binding to opioid receptors, which are found principally in the central nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract. The receptors in these two organ systems mediate both the beneficial effects and the side effects of opioids.

New OIC study may help reduce overuse of opioids by adolescents

The overuse of opioids has become a national crisis, particularly among adolescents who are considered "at risk" for opioid abuse once the medication has been prescribed to them for pain management.

9 Apr 2018

To treat pain, PTSD and other ills, Tennessee vets try tai chi

Every week in Murfreesboro, Tenn., Zibin Guo guides veterans in wheelchairs through slow-motion tai chi poses as a Bluetooth speaker plays soothing instrumental music.

6 Apr 2018

Staying alive: How to fight an opioid addiction

If you or a loved one wants to beat an opioid addiction, first make sure you have a handy supply of naloxone, a medication that can reverse an overdose and save your life.

2 Apr 2018

New review explores potentially safer therapies for treating chronic abdominal pain

An estimated 2 million people in the U.S. are addicted to prescription opioids- powerful doctor-prescribed medications for chronic or severe pain. The drugs are commonly prescribed to treat gastrointestinal pain caused by conditions such as Crohn's disease and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), raising the risk of addiction among this population.

29 Mar 2018

Omissions on death certificates lead to undercounting of opioid overdoses

In a refrigerator in the coroner’s office in Marion County, Ind., rows of vials await testing. They contain blood, urine and vitreous, the fluid collected from inside a human eye.

29 Mar 2018

How many opioid overdoses are suicides?

Mady Ohlman was 22 on the evening some years ago when she stood in a friend’s bathroom looking down at the sink.

28 Mar 2018

Frequent and public opioid users may be best candidates for naloxone training

In response to America's opioid crisis, public health departments and community organizations across the country have started to train opioid users to reverse overdoses in other users with the opioid-blocker naloxone.

26 Mar 2018

Economic and social conditions underlie geographic differences in drug-related deaths

Drug-related deaths have grown to be a major US public health problem over the past two decades. Between 2006 and 2015 there were more than 515,000 deaths from drug overdoses and other drug-related causes.

26 Mar 2018

Back pain being mismanaged globally

According to a panel of international health experts, back pain is being grossly mismanaged globally. This could be both by ineffective treatments as well as treatment with harmful methods.

23 Mar 2018

Graphic: Opioid painkiller is top prescription in 11 states

Americans fill about 4.5 billion prescriptions each year, at a cost of more than $323 billion. But what are we actually buying? In 11 states, the top prescriptions are opioid pain pills that are mixtures of acetaminophen and hydrocodone (brand names Vicodin and Norco), according to new data from GoodRx, an online prescription cost service.

22 Mar 2018

Chronic opioid users at increased risk of complications after spinal fusion surgery

Patients who have been taking opioid pain relievers for several months before spinal fusion surgery are at increased risk of complications after their surgery, reports a study in the journal Spine, published by Wolters Kluwer.

21 Mar 2018

Congress tackles the opioid epidemic. But how much will it help?

The nation's opioid epidemic has been called today's version of the 1980s AIDS crisis. In a speech Monday, President Donald Trump pushed for a tougher federal response, emphasizing a tough-on-crime approach for drug dealers and more funding for treatment.

20 Mar 2018

The other opioid crisis: Hospital shortages lead to patient pain, medical errors

Even as opioids flood American communities and fuel widespread addiction, hospitals are facing a dangerous shortage of the powerful painkillers needed by patients in acute pain, according to doctors, pharmacists and a coalition of health groups.

16 Mar 2018

Special issue aims to bring medical cannabis into mainstream medicine

Medicinal cannabis is safe and effective in pain relief, and researchers are calling for the treatment to be properly established in our modern medical arsenal.

15 Mar 2018

Novel use for drug shows promise as effective treatment for postoperative nausea and vomiting

An innovative use for a known drug is showing promise as an effective treatment for preventing postoperative nausea and vomiting, suggests a study published today in the Online First edition of Anesthesiology, the peer-reviewed medical journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

14 Mar 2018

Opioid maker funds efforts to fight addiction: Is it ‘blood money’ or charity?

A program to give naloxone overdose-antidote kits and training to front-line officers. Funding for pill disposal boxes in pharmacies, clinics and police stations across North Carolina. A radio campaign in Connecticut warning of the dangers of opioid abuse. A new medicine to treat opioid-induced constipation.

14 Mar 2018

GHHS collaborates with IllumiCare to help clinicians make better decisions at point-of-care

Seeing prices and calorie counts on a restaurant menu allows consumers to make better choices when eating out. In the same way, physicians make better choices when presented with the financial cost and potential risks of medications, labs and radiology tests when inside the electronic medical record making treatment decisions.

14 Mar 2018

Jury’s in: Opioids are not better than other medicines for chronic pain

A few years ago, Renea Molden’s doctors told her they wanted to take her off her opioid pills. It did not sound like good idea to her.

6 Mar 2018

Researchers aim to to better predict future chronic opioid therapy in hospital patients

Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus are working to develop statistical models to better predict which patients will be prescribed opioid medications long-term following discharge from a hospital stay.

6 Mar 2018

While talk about opioids continues in DC, addiction treatment is in peril in states

Opioids were on the White House agenda Thursday — President Trump convened a summit with members of his administration about the crisis. And Congress authorized funds for the opioid crisis in its recent budget deal — but those dollars aren’t flowing yet, and states say they are struggling to meet the need for treatment.

5 Mar 2018

Opioids News and Research

Further Reading

New OIC study may help reduce overuse of opioids by adolescents

To treat pain, PTSD and other ills, Tennessee vets try tai chi

Staying alive: How to fight an opioid addiction

New review explores potentially safer therapies for treating chronic abdominal pain

Omissions on death certificates lead to undercounting of opioid overdoses

How many opioid overdoses are suicides?

Frequent and public opioid users may be best candidates for naloxone training

Economic and social conditions underlie geographic differences in drug-related deaths

Back pain being mismanaged globally

Graphic: Opioid painkiller is top prescription in 11 states

Chronic opioid users at increased risk of complications after spinal fusion surgery

Congress tackles the opioid epidemic. But how much will it help?

The other opioid crisis: Hospital shortages lead to patient pain, medical errors

Special issue aims to bring medical cannabis into mainstream medicine

Novel use for drug shows promise as effective treatment for postoperative nausea and vomiting

Opioid maker funds efforts to fight addiction: Is it ‘blood money’ or charity?

GHHS collaborates with IllumiCare to help clinicians make better decisions at point-of-care

Jury’s in: Opioids are not better than other medicines for chronic pain

Researchers aim to to better predict future chronic opioid therapy in hospital patients

While talk about opioids continues in DC, addiction treatment is in peril in states

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