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.

West Virginia city once battered by opioid overdoses confronts ‘fourth wave’

From 2006 through 2014, more than 81 million painkiller pills were shipped to this city and surrounding rural Cabell County.

13 Mar 2024

DNA aptamer-based sensors can accurately detect trace amounts of fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new generation of high-performance DNA aptamers and highly accurate drug sensors for cocaine and other opioids.

5 Mar 2024

Statistical models vs. front-line workers: Who knows best how to spend opioid settlement cash?

In this Gulf Coast city, addiction medicine doctor Stephen Loyd announced at a January event what he called "a game-changer" for state and local governments spending billions of dollars in opioid settlement funds.

5 Mar 2024

How a friend’s death turned Colorado teens into anti-overdose activists

Gavinn McKinney loved Nike shoes, fireworks, and sushi. He was studying Potawatomi, one of the languages of his Native American heritage.

1 Mar 2024

California hospitals, advocates seek stable funding to retain behavioral health navigators

Health providers and addiction experts warn the funding structure is unstable for a California initiative that steers patients with substance use disorder into long-term treatment after they are discharged from emergency rooms, which has already led some critical employees to leave their jobs.

1 Mar 2024

Horse sedative use among humans spreads in deadly mixture of ‘tranq’ and fentanyl

Andrew McClave Jr. loved to lift weights. The 6-foot-4-inch bartender resembled a bodybuilder and once posed for a photo flexing his muscles with former pro wrestler Hulk Hogan.

26 Feb 2024

‘Fourth wave’ of opioid epidemic crashes ashore, propelled by fentanyl and meth

The United States is knee-deep in what some experts call the opioid epidemic's "fourth wave," which is not only placing drug users at greater risk but is also complicating efforts to address the nation's drug problem.

21 Feb 2024

California prison drug overdoses surge again after early treatment success

Drug overdose deaths in California state prisons rebounded to near record levels last year even as corrections officials touted the state's intervention methods as a model for prisons and jails across the United States.

14 Feb 2024

Pain screening could improve care for youth with sickle cell disease

A recent study from researchers at University Hospitals (UH) Connor Whole Health and UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital describes a quality improvement project where pain screening procedures were embedded within an outpatient pediatric sickle cell disease (SCD) clinic.

13 Feb 2024

Reducing unnecessary testing or treatments in older patients

When a doctor ordered a routine prostate screening for an 80-year-old man -; as doctors often do -; a dramatic yellow alert popped up on the electronic health record with dire warnings.

7 Feb 2024

New guidelines set safer standards for dental pain relief

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) taken alone or along with acetaminophen are recommended as first-line treatments for managing short-term dental pain in adults and adolescents aged 12 or older, according to a new clinical practice guideline developed by the American Dental Association (ADA), the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine and the Center for Integrative Global Oral Health at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine.

6 Feb 2024

Researchers discover non-opioid therapeutic for relieving neuropathic pain

Among the most difficult types of pain to alleviate is neuropathic pain, pain that is usually caused by damage to nerves in various body tissues, including skin, muscle and joints.

31 Jan 2024

Pitt secures $7.8 million grant to improve quality of care for patients with opioid use disorder

The University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy's Program Evaluation and Research Unit (PERU) has received a five-year, $7.8 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to improve quality of care for patients with opioid use disorder across Pennsylvania.

30 Jan 2024

Records show Publix opioid sales grew even as addiction crisis prompted other chains’ pullback

An executive at Teva Pharmaceuticals flagged Publix Super Markets in October 2015 after detecting what he called in an email "serious red flags" with the grocery chain's orders of powerful opioids.

29 Jan 2024

Federal lawmakers take first steps toward oversight of $50 billion in opioid settlements

Some members of Congress are demanding federal oversight of billions of dollars in opioid settlements, which state and local governments began spending over the past two years — with some using it to plug budget holes rather than fight the addiction crisis.

22 Jan 2024

Using AI to break the opioid addiction cycle

When Ben Brown, research assistant professor of chemistry, thinks about the opioid epidemic, he views the problem on a molecular level.

19 Jan 2024

Tailored opioid prescribing limits more effective at reducing prescription length, study finds

Many states have passed new laws that place restrictions on the duration of first-time opioid prescriptions to help address the opioid epidemic.

19 Jan 2024

What is the association between prenatal opioid exposure and risk of immune-related conditions?

Researchers compared the risk of hospitalization and emergency department presentation for immune-related conditions in children with and without prenatal opioid exposure.

19 Jan 2024

Michigan disbands racial equity group as tension mounts over opioid settlement money

An advisory group formed to help Michigan tackle high rates of opioid overdoses in communities of color has been disbanded by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's administration, leading to hard feelings among some members who say their work is being buried.

19 Jan 2024

Morphine shows potential as effective cough therapy for pulmonary fibrosis, study finds

The efficacy of the controlled release of low-dose morphine as treatment against that of a placebo in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

18 Jan 2024

Opioids News and Research

Further Reading

West Virginia city once battered by opioid overdoses confronts ‘fourth wave’

DNA aptamer-based sensors can accurately detect trace amounts of fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine

Statistical models vs. front-line workers: Who knows best how to spend opioid settlement cash?

How a friend’s death turned Colorado teens into anti-overdose activists

California hospitals, advocates seek stable funding to retain behavioral health navigators

Horse sedative use among humans spreads in deadly mixture of ‘tranq’ and fentanyl

‘Fourth wave’ of opioid epidemic crashes ashore, propelled by fentanyl and meth

California prison drug overdoses surge again after early treatment success

Pain screening could improve care for youth with sickle cell disease

Reducing unnecessary testing or treatments in older patients

New guidelines set safer standards for dental pain relief

Researchers discover non-opioid therapeutic for relieving neuropathic pain

Pitt secures $7.8 million grant to improve quality of care for patients with opioid use disorder

Records show Publix opioid sales grew even as addiction crisis prompted other chains’ pullback

Federal lawmakers take first steps toward oversight of $50 billion in opioid settlements

Using AI to break the opioid addiction cycle

Tailored opioid prescribing limits more effective at reducing prescription length, study finds

What is the association between prenatal opioid exposure and risk of immune-related conditions?

Michigan disbands racial equity group as tension mounts over opioid settlement money

Morphine shows potential as effective cough therapy for pulmonary fibrosis, study finds

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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