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.

Promising new pain-killing drug

A potential new pain-killing drug developed by medical scientists at the University of Leicester and Ferrara in Italy is to be discussed at a public lecture on 20th March.

19 Mar 2007

Morphine for euthanasia is a myth

Using morphine to end a person's life is a myth, argues a senior doctor in a letter to this week's British Medical Journal.

4 Mar 2007

Epidurals affect how successful breastfeeding will be

According to researchers in Australia having an epidural to relieve labour pains may affect how successful breastfeeding will be.

12 Dec 2006

Prescription drugs rather than heroin the drug of choice in Canada

A new study carried in seven Canadian cities, has revealed that prescription opioids, rather than heroin, are the biggest form of illicit opioid currently in use.

21 Nov 2006

New guidelines for nausea and vomiting

After five years of reviewing the latest research findings, a panel of experts led by a Duke University Medical Center anesthesiologist has developed new guidelines to help physicians reduce the occurrence of nausea and vomiting in patients after surgery.

16 Oct 2006

Treating battlefield injuries and pain in veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq

The August issue of Pain Medicine features two original research studies on treating pain in veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq.

15 Aug 2006

Increasing deaths from opioid analgesics in the United States

Trends analysis of drug poisoning deaths has helped explain a national epidemic of overdose deaths in the USA that began in the 1990s, concludes Leonard Paulozzi and colleagues at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

24 Jul 2006

Increasing deaths from opioid analgesics in the United States

24 Jul 2006

Novel research points to promising relief target for chronic pain

By some accounts, chronic pain affects nearly 100 million Americans from such varied causes as arthritis, sciatica, cancer, diabetes. Most forms of pain result from identifiable causes which serve the "good" purpose in warning of a real physical problem that needs attention, or rest.

6 Jun 2006

Buprenorphine is more effective than clonidine at helping people withdraw from opioids

It probably has similar effect as methadone, but withdrawal symptoms may resolve more quickly with buprenorphine.

18 Apr 2006

Researchers identify potential targets for more effective analgesic drugs with potentially fewer side effects

Studying mice, pain researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified two key components in the pain cascade that may provide targets for more effective analgesic drugs with potentially fewer side effects

6 Apr 2006

UV light has "feel-good" effects that may be similar to those of some addictive drugs

Frequent users of tanning beds may be getting more out of the experience than darker skin, according to researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

3 Apr 2006

High narcotic use among headache sufferers

A new analysis of nearly 6.2 million insured patients shows that migraine was under diagnosed and often untreated.

9 Mar 2006

More training needed to ensure accuracy of urine drug tests

In a survey of primary care physicians, most reported not using proper techniques when collecting urine samples for drug tests on adolescents and were often unaware of the tests' limitations, according to an article in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

9 Feb 2006

New insights into pain mechanisms

Long treated as a side effect, pain is now widely recognized as an integral part of patient care.

7 Dec 2005

Link between eating and pain relief - brain stem blocks pain to protect key behaviors

Certain behaviors, such as eating, drinking and urinating, are so crucial to survival that the brains of all vertebrates contain clusters of nerve cells that can suppress pain long enough to allow the animal to eat, drink - or pee - in peace.

15 Nov 2005

Fentanyl transdermal patch is an effective way to control pain in children

A new study says using a transdermal patch to deliver the opioid fentanyl is an effective way to control pain in children

14 Nov 2005

Studies outline dangers of mixing stress, deprivation and tempting foods

Two studies in the October issue of Behavioral Neuroscience show that when animals are stressed, deprived and exposed to tempting food, they overeat, with different degrees of interaction.

7 Nov 2005

Evaluation of the efficacy of buprenorphine hydrochloride and clonidine hydrochloride, in detoxification of opioid-dependent teenagers

In a comparison of two drugs prescribed to treat teenagers dependent on heroin and other opioids, the drug buprenorphine was more effective, especially in treatment retention, according to a study in the October issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

4 Oct 2005

Possibility of tailored treatments for addiction based on how a person's genes behave

Scientists have learned how a genetic variation long suspected in making some people susceptible to alcoholism and narcotic drug addiction actually does so.

27 Sep 2005