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.

Anesthesiologists can play a greater role in managing patients with substance use disorders

As use and misuse of alcohol, opioids, and psychostimulants continues to increase, anesthesiologists can become a more integral part of the care team managing patients with a Substance Use Disorder (SUD), according to a series of three articles published in the September issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, the official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society.

24 Aug 2023

Recreational drug use may worsen outcomes for cardiac intensive care patients

Recreational drug use may be a factor in a significant proportion of admissions to cardiac intensive care, with various substances detected in 1 in 10 such patients, suggest the findings of a multicentre French study published online in the journal Heart.

17 Aug 2023

Expert consensus on how to help patients with chronic pain get adequate care and coverage

The pendulum of opioid prescribing for pain has swung sharply in the last decade, as the epidemic of opioid overuse, addiction and overdose led policymakers and health care providers to ratchet back on the prescriptions patients receive.

14 Aug 2023

University of Michigan and Zingerman's launch pilot program to train employees in use of naloxone

In an effort to expand the use of lifesaving opioid overdose reversal medication, the University of Michigan and Ann Arbor’s Zingerman’s Community of Businesses are launching a restaurant-based pilot program in Michigan to train employees in the use and administration of naloxone.

7 Aug 2023

New antibody shows promise in reversing carfentanil overdoses

An antibody in single-chain fragment variable (scFv) format that binds to the powerful opioid carfentanil was shown to reverse signs of carfentanil overdose in preclinical tests conducted by scientists at Scripps Research.

7 Aug 2023

Scientists map 3D structure of kappa opioid receptor

Opioids remain the most potent and effective pain relievers in medicine, but they're also among the most addictive drugs that can halt a person's ability to breathe during an overdose -; which can be deadly.

27 Jul 2023

New gene therapy shows promise in reversing chronic pain

Researchers at NYU College of Dentistry's Pain Research Center have developed a gene therapy that treats chronic pain by indirectly regulating a specific sodium ion channel, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

27 Jul 2023

Pain clinic chain to pay $11.4M to settle Medicare and Medicaid fraud claims

The owner of one of California's largest chains of pain management clinics has agreed to pay nearly $11.4 million to California, Oregon, and the federal government to settle allegations of Medicare and Medicaid fraud.

26 Jul 2023

The painful legacy of ‘law and order’ treatment of addiction in jail

Megan Dunn, who has struggled with addiction since her teens, points to the moment her life went "deeply downhill."

19 Jul 2023

Fentanyl overdose reversal: New hope on the horizon

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 100,000 Americans die each year from an overdose, most due to the use of synthetic opiates like fentanyl. While naloxone, currently the only an antidote for opiate overdose, has become more common, it is less effective against fentanyl-class synthetic opioids.

18 Jul 2023

Opioids linked to increased risk of death in older adults with dementia

The study population included everyone in Denmark aged 65 and older diagnosed with dementia between Jan. 1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2018 (n=75,471), including both home-living and nursing home residents. Of that group, 42% (31,619) of those diagnosed with dementia redeemed a prescription for an opioid at a pharmacy.

18 Jul 2023

Starting epidurals in the OR may help provide better pain control

Starting a patient-controlled epidural anesthesia (PCEA) infusion while the patient is still in the operating room (OR) -; rather than in the recovery room after the procedure -; may help provide better pain control, suggests research presented at the virtual American Society of Anesthesiologists' Anesthesia Quality and Patient Safety Meeting.

17 Jul 2023

The ethics of nanobiotechnology: A call for global regulation

Prosthetics moved by thoughts. Targeted treatments for aggressive brain cancer. Soldiers with enhanced vision or bionic ears.

13 Jul 2023

The American Journal of Health Economics articles examine policies to address opioid crisis

The August 2023 issue of the American Journal of Health Economics will feature a cluster of articles that examine the opioid crisis.

10 Jul 2023

Meet the people deciding how to spend $50 billion in opioid settlement cash

As more than $50 billion makes its way to state and local governments to compensate for the opioid epidemic, people with high hopes for the money are already fighting over a little-known bureaucratic arm of the process: state councils that wield immense power over how the cash is spent.

10 Jul 2023