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.

Healthcare systems miss life-saving treatments learnt on battlefield

Trauma is responsible for more global deaths annually than HIV, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Yet healthcare systems in many countries are missing out on life-saving treatments learnt on the battlefield, according to a review by King's College London and published today in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.

20 Mar 2015

Daiichi Sankyo signs co-commercialization agreement with AstraZeneca for MOVANTIK (naloxegol)

Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. today announced a co-commercialization agreement with AstraZeneca for MOVANTIK (naloxegol) in the US, in line with the Daiichi Sankyo strategy to expand its US portfolio through strategic alliances, in addition to internal R&D and acquisitions.

19 Mar 2015

United Therapeutics announces FDA approval of dinutuximab for treatment of high-risk neuroblastoma

United Therapeutics Corporation announced today that the United States Food and Drug Administration has approved Unituxin (dinutuximab) Injection (formerly called ch14.18), in combination with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interleukin-2 (IL-2), and 13-cis-retinoic acid (RA), for the treatment of pediatric patients with high-risk neuroblastoma who achieve at least a partial response to prior first-line multiagent, multimodality therapy.

10 Mar 2015

Stepped-care strategy improves function, decreases pain severity in veterans

Although U.S. military veterans who have returned from Iraq or Afghanistan are more likely to suffer chronic pain than veterans of any other conflict in American history, little headway has been made in helping them manage the often debilitating effects of chronic pain.

10 Mar 2015

Investigational drug may attack cause of vaso-occlusion crises in sickle cell anemia

Treatment for painful episodes of blood vessel obstruction in sickle cell anemia is currently limited to controlling pain, but an investigational therapy might be able to interfere with the underlying cause of these events, known as vaso-occlusion crises, researchers at Duke Medicine report.

3 Mar 2015

Survey: Only 53% of primary care physicians use state's prescription drug monitoring programs

In a new survey, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that physicians report relatively high awareness of state databases that track drug prescriptions but more than one-fifth indicated they were not aware of their state's program at all.

3 Mar 2015

Anticholinergic medications associated with pneumonia risk in older people

Taking commonly used medications with anticholinergic effects is associated with a significantly higher risk for developing pneumonia in a study of more than 3,000 older Group Health patients living in the community--not in nursing homes.

3 Mar 2015

Pain from social rejection lasts longer for people with untreated depression

Rejected by a person you like? Just "shake it off" and move on, as music star Taylor Swift says.

27 Feb 2015

New, first-of-its-kind app helps patients with chronic pain track opioid use

A new, first-of-its-kind app has launched to help patients suffering from chronic pain track their opioid use and measure pain levels to assist with the safe use of opioids.

25 Feb 2015

International study shows potential new therapy to treat patients with neuropathic pain

An international study led by scientists at McGill University reports, for the first time, that drugs that selectively target the melatonin MT2 receptor represent a novel class of analgesic drugs that could be used to treat patients with neuropathic pain.

19 Feb 2015

Prescription painkiller abuse: A worst drug overdose epidemic in history

The Centers for Disease Control calls prescription painkiller abuse "one of the worst drug overdose epidemics in history."

19 Feb 2015

BUSM's medical education program wins HIDTA award for Outstanding Prevention Effort

White House Drug Control Policy Director Michael Botticelli has awarded Boston University School of Medicine's Safe and Competent Opioid Prescribing Education (SCOPE of Pain) program a 2014 National High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) award for Outstanding Prevention Effort.

19 Feb 2015

New compound appears to play role in development of opioid tolerance

While opioids are a widely used treatment for pain, patients who take them on a regular basis can become tolerant, requiring a higher dose for continued pain relief. In a study published in Anesthesiology, the official medical journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, researchers identified a compound that appears to play a role in the development of opioid tolerance.

18 Feb 2015

Increasing opioid doses to manage chronic pain may intensify depression

Patients who increased doses of opioid medicines to manage chronic pain were more likely to experience an increase in depression, according to Saint Louis University findings in Pain.

16 Feb 2015

Opioid withdrawal in Ontario newborns increases 15-fold

The number of newborns suffering from opioid withdrawal increased 15-fold in Ontario over 20 years, according to research published today in CMAJ Open.

12 Feb 2015

FDA accepts NDA filing for Inspirion Delivery Technologies' investigational drug, MorphaBond ER

Inspirion Delivery Technologies, LLC, a specialty pharmaceutical company focused solely on the development of Abuse-Deterrent Formulations (ADFs) of opioid products, together with its financial partner Trygg Pharma Group, announced that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration has accepted for filing the New Drug Application ("NDA") submitted on November 21, 2014 for its investigational drug, MorphaBond ER, an extended-release (ER), abuse-deterrent formulation of morphine.

10 Feb 2015

New compound may lead to development of potential therapeutics for neuropathic pain

A new compound discovered by a team of UC Davis investigators has potent actions against production of a chemical that which is implicated in the development of chronic pain following a peripheral nerve injury in the spinal cord.

7 Feb 2015

New multidisciplinary approach to managing colorectal operation results in shorter hospital stays, lower costs

A new multidisciplinary approach to managing patients undergoing a colorectal operation results in shorter hospital stays, fewer complications, and lower medical costs, according to research results published online in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

6 Feb 2015

Policymakers need to look beyond painkiller abuse to reduce opioid overdose deaths, say researchers

According to researchers at Brandeis University, the University of North Florida and Johns Hopkins University, policymakers must look beyond painkiller abuse, also called non-medical use, in their efforts to reduce opioid overdose deaths.

5 Feb 2015

Study could lead to potential drug treatment for fighting addiction

A research team led by the University of Colorado Boulder has discovered a mechanism in the brain that is key to making cocaine seem pleasurable, a finding that could lead to a drug treatment for fighting addiction.

5 Feb 2015

Opioids News and Research

Further Reading

Healthcare systems miss life-saving treatments learnt on battlefield

Daiichi Sankyo signs co-commercialization agreement with AstraZeneca for MOVANTIK (naloxegol)

United Therapeutics announces FDA approval of dinutuximab for treatment of high-risk neuroblastoma

Stepped-care strategy improves function, decreases pain severity in veterans

Investigational drug may attack cause of vaso-occlusion crises in sickle cell anemia

Survey: Only 53% of primary care physicians use state's prescription drug monitoring programs

Anticholinergic medications associated with pneumonia risk in older people

Pain from social rejection lasts longer for people with untreated depression

New, first-of-its-kind app helps patients with chronic pain track opioid use

International study shows potential new therapy to treat patients with neuropathic pain

Prescription painkiller abuse: A worst drug overdose epidemic in history

BUSM's medical education program wins HIDTA award for Outstanding Prevention Effort

New compound appears to play role in development of opioid tolerance

Increasing opioid doses to manage chronic pain may intensify depression

Opioid withdrawal in Ontario newborns increases 15-fold

FDA accepts NDA filing for Inspirion Delivery Technologies' investigational drug, MorphaBond ER

New compound may lead to development of potential therapeutics for neuropathic pain

New multidisciplinary approach to managing colorectal operation results in shorter hospital stays, lower costs

Policymakers need to look beyond painkiller abuse to reduce opioid overdose deaths, say researchers

Study could lead to potential drug treatment for fighting addiction

Event guide: The Non-Opioid Pain Therapeutics Summit eBook

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