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.

FDA approves Endo’s BELBUCA (buprenorphine) buccal film for use in patients with chronic pain

Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc., a subsidiary of Endo International plc, and BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc., announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved BELBUCA (buprenorphine) buccal film for use in patients with chronic pain severe enough to require daily, around-the-clock, long-term opioid treatment and for which alternative treatment options are inadequate.

28 Oct 2015

Drug that relieves opioid-induced constipation may help some cancer patients live longer

Patients with advanced cancers who took a drug designed to relieve constipation caused by pain killers lived longer and had fewer reports of tumor progression than cancer patients who did not receive the drug, according to results presented October 27 at the 2015 meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists in San Diego. This is the first study in humans to associate opioid blockade with improved survival.

28 Oct 2015

Study: Pediatric patients prescribed more opioid medication than necessary following surgery

Although it is not uncommon for pediatric patients to be prescribed opioids to treat certain types of moderate to severe pain, new research suggests these patients may be prescribed more opioids than necessary following surgery. A study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2015 annual meeting found nearly 60 percent of opioids dispensed to pediatric patients following surgery remained unused, which could lead to the unused medication being abused by other adolescents in the household.

26 Oct 2015

Eating a light meal during labor may benefit most healthy women

Most healthy women can skip the fasting and, in fact, would benefit from eating a light meal during labor, suggests research being presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2015 annual meeting. Improvements in anesthesia care have made pain control during labor safer, reducing risks related to eating, researchers note.

26 Oct 2015

ASA participates in government-led effort to address opioid epidemic

Today, the American Society of Anesthesiologists announced their participation in a government-led effort to address the opioid epidemic, part of ASA's continued focus on patient safety and ongoing work to promote the safe use of prescription opioids. ASA is joined by a number of public and private sector partners in the efforts, which are being announced today by President Obama in Charleston, West Virginia.

22 Oct 2015

Nonmedical use of prescription opioids drops but overdose death rates rise in U.S.

From 2003 to 2013, the percentage of nonmedical use of prescription opioids decreased among adults in the U.S., while the prevalence of prescription opioid use disorders, frequency of use, and related deaths increased, according to a study in the October 13 issue of JAMA.

15 Oct 2015

BDSI announces FDA approval of BUNAVAIL sNDA for manufacturing specification change

BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the company's Supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for a manufacturing specification change for BUNAVAIL (buprenorphine and naloxone) buccal film (CIII).

15 Oct 2015

Study: Women less likely than men to have good relief of chronic pain with long-term opioid use

Women, and especially younger women, are much less likely than men to have good relief of chronic, non-cancer pain with long-term opioid use, with only one in five women reporting low levels of pain and high levels of function with chronic opioid therapy in a new study published in Journal of Women's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

9 Oct 2015

Social dynamics, family history critical to identifying patients most likely to abuse pain medicines

Patients undergoing rehabilitation for physical injuries and their physicians can better understand who is most at risk of abusing opioids by reviewing their family history, lifestyle and environment for critical cues about susceptibility to addiction, according to physical medicine and rehabilitation experts.

6 Oct 2015

Osteopathic physicians, researchers to present clinical and research updates at OMED 15

Osteopathic physicians, researchers and aligned medical professionals will present clinical and research updates in 15 specialties at OMED 15 in Orlando October 17-21.

6 Oct 2015

Tris Pharma announces launch of generic TUSSIONEX

Tris Pharma, a specialty pharmaceutical company that develops innovative drug delivery technologies, announced the launch of Tris-labeled generic TUSSIONEX, an extended-release suspension containing hydrocodone polistirex and chlorpheniramine polistirex.

1 Oct 2015

Promising drug candidate for chronic intractable itch

If you have an itch, you have to scratch it. But that’s a problem for people with a condition called “chronic intractable itch,” where that itchy sensation never goes away—a difficult-to-treat condition closely associated with dialysis and renal failure.

28 Sep 2015

FDA accepts Braeburn's resubmission of Probuphine NDA for review

Braeburn Pharmaceuticals, an Apple Tree Partners company, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted Braeburn's resubmission of the Probuphine New Drug Application (NDA) for review and set February 27, 2016 as the target date for Agency action.

28 Sep 2015

New countries join ESMO Designated Centre of Integrated Oncology and Palliative Care

Patient eligibility for opioids is seriously restricted in some countries, with the highest rate of limited access to palliative care found in the Middle East, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean and Asia. Data are revealed by the ESMO Global Opioid Policy Initiative (GOPI) which identifies barriers to the availability and accessibility of essential pain relieving medication worldwide.

26 Sep 2015

New guideline on the use of prescription medications for treatment of opioid addiction

Medications play an important role in managing patients with opioid use disorders, but there are not enough physicians with the knowledge and ability to use these often-complex treatments.

25 Sep 2015

TSRI study reveals key morphine regulator that may help develop less-addictive pain medications

Once used in the 18th century as currency to reverse the trade imbalance between China and Britain, opiates that contain morphine have been misunderstood almost continually ever since.

23 Sep 2015

Study reports use of new psychoactive drugs in US nationally representative survey

In recent years, there has been an increase in emergence and use of a variety of new drugs, so-called "novel psychoactive substances" (NPS) in the US and worldwide.

16 Sep 2015

New treatment protocol can improve outcomes for babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome

A new protocol to treat babies born in withdrawal from drugs can be used widely to improve outcomes for these babies. The protocol reduces length of stay and the duration of treatment with opioids that are used therapeutically to wean babies off of drugs.

14 Sep 2015

Study shows half of adolescents misuse their prescription drugs

Although prescription drug misuse is on the decline among adolescents, one in two patients tested between the ages of 10 and 17 years are not using their medications appropriately, potentially putting their health at risk, according to an analysis by Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services.

From Quest Diagnostics 11 Sep 2015

Psychosis, hepatitis C infection are greatest risk factors for mortality in marginalized Vancouver residents

Marginalized residents of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside are dying at more than eight times the national average, and treatable conditions are the greatest risk factors for mortality, researchers at the University of British Columbia have found.

11 Sep 2015