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.

Education can empower clinicians to safely prescribe opioids for chronic pain sufferers

Educating clinicians on how to safely prescribe opioids can help decrease opioid misuse among chronic pain sufferers.

27 Aug 2015

Variations in opioid receptor genes linked to neonatal abstinence syndrome severity in newborn babies

A new study led by researchers at Boston Medical Center indicates that variations in opioid receptor genes are associated with more severe neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) in newborn babies. The findings, published online in Drug & Alcohol Dependence, could help lead to the development of individualized treatment plans tailored to each infants' risk of requiring medication to curb their NAS symptoms, which could help improve these patients' outcomes and reduce how long some stay in the hospital.

26 Aug 2015

AMA Task Force to Reduce Opioid Abuse announces national recommendations to address opioid crisis

Opioid abuse is a serious public health problem that has reached crisis levels across the United States, with 44 people dying each day from overdose of opioids, and many more becoming addicted. Recognizing the urgency and serious impact of this issue on the health of hundreds of thousands of patients across the country, today the American Medical Association Task Force to Reduce Opioid Abuse announced the first of several national recommendations to address this growing epidemic.

25 Aug 2015

Researchers evaluate use of pharmacy-based naloxone education and distribution to fight opioid overdoses

In response to the growing opioid crisis, several states, including Massachusetts and Rhode Island, have granted pharmacists the authority to provide naloxone rescue kits without a prescription to at-risk patients. This model of pharmacy-based naloxone (PBN) education and distribution is one of the public health strategies currently being evaluated at hundreds of pharmacies in both states to determine the impact on opioid overdose death rates.

25 Aug 2015

Three medical oncologists to receive ESMO's acclaimed awards

The European Society for Medical Oncology, the leading European professional organisation for advancing medical oncology, announced today the three exceptional medical oncologists who will receive its acclaimed awards.

24 Aug 2015

Opioids produced by yeast; revealing the potential for cheaper pain relief

Researchers at Stanford University have genetically engineered yeast so it produces hydrocodone, a semi-synthetic opioid analgesic used in the United States for relief of moderate to severe pain.

14 Aug 2015

BDSI announces FDA approval of sNDA for new formulation of ONSOLIS (fentanyl buccal soluble film) CII

BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. announced the approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of a Supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for a new formulation of ONSOLIS (fentanyl buccal soluble film) CII for the management of breakthrough pain in patients with cancer who are opioid tolerant.

13 Aug 2015

Older patients more likely to be readmitted to hospital after ambulatory surgery

Patients 65 and older who have ambulatory surgery are much more likely to be readmitted to the hospital within 30 days than younger patients, regardless of their health before surgery, reports a new, large national Northwestern Medicine study. The likely cause, based on previous research, is difficulty understanding medication dosing and discharge instructions, as well as cognitive impairment among older patients.

11 Aug 2015

BMC partners with RIH, CVS to support pharmacy-based naloxone rescue kits to help combat opioid addiction, overdose

Boston Medical Center has received a $1.3 million grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to support a demonstration project of pharmacy-based naloxone rescue kits to help reduce opioid addiction and overdose death in two New England States: Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

7 Aug 2015

Nonmedical use of prescription opioids increasing among young adults

The nonmedical use of prescription opioids (POs) has become an area of increasing public health concern in the United States and rates of use are particularly high among young adults. In the past decade, an emerging "epidemic" of nonmedical PO use has been reported.

5 Aug 2015

Better pain relief options for individuals with chronic back and leg pain

Chronic back and leg pain sufferers in search of better pain relief options may have a new choice. According to a study published in the Online First edition of Anesthesiology, the official medical journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, patients who received a novel high frequency form of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) therapy experienced significantly greater, long-term relief for both chronic back and leg pain, when compared to a traditional low frequency form of SCS therapy.

29 Jul 2015

Opioid prescribing guidelines that focus high-dose use may need revision, say researchers

Overdoses of opioid pain medications frequently occur in people who aren't chronic users with high prescribed opioid doses--the groups targeted by current opioid prescribing guidelines, reports a study in the August issue of Medical Care.

16 Jul 2015

SLU researcher awarded NIH's Cutting-Edge Basic Research Award to solve pain-killer problem

SLU pain researcher Daniela Salvemini has been awarded the NIH's Cutting-Edge Basic Research Award (CEBRA) to solve an alarming problem: pain killers that are capable of quelling terrible pain also carry debilitating side effects and significant risk of addiction.

16 Jul 2015

National Safety Council requests employers to develop workplace policies around use of opioid painkillers

The National Safety Council is calling on employers to develop workplace policies around the use of opioid prescription painkillers after reviewing research and court cases showing the negative impacts of these medicines on employee safety and worker's compensation costs.

14 Jul 2015

Research findings may help health care providers curb painkiller misuse

People who misuse prescription pain relievers all have one thing in common, University of Georgia researchers have discovered: a history of recent illicit drug use. How they acquire such drugs varies according to age, however.

12 Jul 2015

Internet-based program can help people manage their chronic pain, reduce reliance on opioids

Washington State University researchers have found that people can manage chronic pain and reduce their reliance on opioids through an Internet-based program that teaches non-medical alternatives like increased physical activity, thinking more positively and dealing with emotions.

8 Jul 2015

Results from Phase 3 study evaluating safety and efficacy of Zalviso published in Anesthesiology

AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies for the treatment of acute and breakthrough pain, today announced that results from the IAP311 study have been published in Anesthesiology.

2 Jul 2015

Using multiple pharmacies to fill prescriptions associated with opioid overdoses

A study conducted in the state of Washington and reported in The Journal of Pain showed that almost half of deaths attributed to prescription opioids were Medicaid recipients, and using multiple pharmacies to fill prescriptions is linked with opioid overdoses.

2 Jul 2015

1 in 4 people with histories of nicotine use, substance abuse likely to use opioid painkillers long-term

Opioid painkiller addiction and accidental overdoses have become far too common across the United States. To try to identify who is most at risk, Mayo Clinic researchers studied how many patients prescribed an opioid painkiller for the first time progressed to long-term prescriptions. The answer: 1 in 4. People with histories of tobacco use and substance abuse were likeliest to use opioid painkillers long-term.

2 Jul 2015

Educational messages about naloxone's lifesaving benefits can bolster support for its use

While most Americans do not support policies designed to increase distribution of naloxone - a medication that reverses the effects of a drug overdose - certain types of educational messages about its lifesaving benefits may bolster support for its use, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests.

2 Jul 2015

Opioids News and Research

Further Reading

Education can empower clinicians to safely prescribe opioids for chronic pain sufferers

Variations in opioid receptor genes linked to neonatal abstinence syndrome severity in newborn babies

AMA Task Force to Reduce Opioid Abuse announces national recommendations to address opioid crisis

Researchers evaluate use of pharmacy-based naloxone education and distribution to fight opioid overdoses

Three medical oncologists to receive ESMO's acclaimed awards

Opioids produced by yeast; revealing the potential for cheaper pain relief

BDSI announces FDA approval of sNDA for new formulation of ONSOLIS (fentanyl buccal soluble film) CII

Older patients more likely to be readmitted to hospital after ambulatory surgery

BMC partners with RIH, CVS to support pharmacy-based naloxone rescue kits to help combat opioid addiction, overdose

Nonmedical use of prescription opioids increasing among young adults

Better pain relief options for individuals with chronic back and leg pain

Opioid prescribing guidelines that focus high-dose use may need revision, say researchers

SLU researcher awarded NIH's Cutting-Edge Basic Research Award to solve pain-killer problem

National Safety Council requests employers to develop workplace policies around use of opioid painkillers

Research findings may help health care providers curb painkiller misuse

Internet-based program can help people manage their chronic pain, reduce reliance on opioids

Results from Phase 3 study evaluating safety and efficacy of Zalviso published in Anesthesiology

Using multiple pharmacies to fill prescriptions associated with opioid overdoses

1 in 4 people with histories of nicotine use, substance abuse likely to use opioid painkillers long-term

Educational messages about naloxone's lifesaving benefits can bolster support for its use

Event guide: The Non-Opioid Pain Therapeutics Summit eBook

The Critical Role of Sample Storage in Drug Discovery and Development

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