Substance Use Disorder News and Research

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New study suggests higher buprenorphine doses could help save lives

Individuals with opioid use disorder who were prescribed a lower buprenorphine dose were 20% more likely to discontinue treatment than those on a higher dose, according to a study of patients prescribed buprenorphine in Rhode Island from 2016 to 2020, as fentanyl became widely available.

19 Sep 2023

Experts provide guidance on opioid management in individuals with cancer-related pain

Clinicians treating cancer-related pain must consider whether and how to prescribe opioids to patients who use nonmedical stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamines; however, no guidelines exist related to these common and challenging situations.

15 Sep 2023

Higher adverse childhood experiences linked to greater odds of head or neck injury and concussions

Altaf Saadi, MD, MSc, principal investigator of the Neurodisparities & Health Justice Lab in the Department of Neurology at Mass General and an assistant professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, is lead author of a new study in the Journal of Head Trauma and Rehabilitation, Examining the Association Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Lifetime History of Head or Neck Injury or Concussion in Children From the United States.

8 Sep 2023

FAU researchers discover novel method to identify therapeutic agents to treat addiction

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, approximately 40 million people in the United States had a substance use disorder in 2020.

8 Sep 2023

Parental substance use disorder linked to greater risk of intellectual disability in children

Children of a parent with alcohol or drug use disorder have a greater risk of intellectual disability, even if the problem only lies with the father, researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden report.

7 Sep 2023

Study aims to explore neural, physiological mechanisms linked to substance use in adolescence experiencing anxiety

Anxiety remains one of the most diagnosed clinical symptoms in adolescence and is a potent precursor to and exacerbator of substance use disorder.

25 Aug 2023

New report on the impacts of Michigan’s Medicaid expansion shows positive effects and opportunities for improvement

At a pivotal time for Medicaid health coverage for Americans with low incomes, a report on the impacts of Michigan's Medicaid expansion shows very positive effects, as well as opportunities for continued improvements.

25 Aug 2023

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

NIH awards $24 million to establish Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence

The National Institutes of Health has awarded $24 million in first-year funding to establish Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence. Part of NIH's Implementing a Maternal health and PRegnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone (IMPROVE) initiative, the centers will develop and evaluate innovative approaches to reduce pregnancy-related complications and deaths and promote maternal health equity.

17 Aug 2023

Marijuana and hallucinogen use, binge drinking reach highest level among adults 35 to 50

Past-year use of marijuana and hallucinogens by adults 35 to 50 years old continued a long-term upward trajectory to reach all-time highs in 2022, according to the Monitoring the Future (MTF) panel study, an annual survey of substance use behaviors and attitudes of adults 19 to 60 years old.

17 Aug 2023

Boys more vulnerable to effects of premature parental death than girls, study finds

The cumulative health and economic consequences of the premature loss of a parent may be greater for boys than for girls, suggest the findings of a large long term study published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.

26 Jul 2023

Gender differences in long-term effects of premature parental death

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

LSU Health New Orleans' School of Nursing receives HRSA grant to address health care workforce challenges

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has awarded LSU Health New Orleans' School of Nursing $2.6 million over four years to increase the number of nurse practitioners and nurse midwives trained and prepared to provide equitable, culturally aligned, quality primary care services, mental health and substance use disorder care, and maternal health care to underrepresented populations in rural, urban, tribal, and underserved areas across the state.

13 Jul 2023

Psychedelic-based therapies poised to change the treatments for patients with PTSD

Psychedelic-based therapies are poised to change the treatments that psychiatrists can offer patients.

12 Jul 2023

Do the benefits of dog ownership on cardiovascular disease and diabetes extend to US military Veterans?

A study finds that dog ownership reduces the risk of cardiometabolic disease among US military veterans.

12 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

Study sheds light on the wide disparities within maternal mortality rates in the U.S.

A new study by investigators from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington and Mass General Brigham found that maternal mortality rates have worsened from 1999 to 2019, hitting some racial and ethnic groups and states harder than others.

3 Jul 2023

Xylazine can exacerbate the life-threatening effects of opioids, rat study shows

A new study in rats suggests that xylazine, the active ingredient in a non-opioid veterinary tranquilizer not approved for human use, can worsen the life-threatening effects of opioids.

21 Jun 2023