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.

Study highlights the growing crisis of methamphetamine-related deaths in the U.S.

Methamphetamine deaths in the U.S. rose 61-fold from 1999 to 2021, according to a new study, highlighting a growing crisis in addiction and public health.

13 Jan 2025

NFL players prescribed very few opioids for pain management

Due to the physical contact nature of their occupation, the elite athletes of the National Football League (NFL) often experience pain.

13 Jan 2025

Pittcon addresses synthetic psychedelics crisis; Boston 2025 to advance collaboration

Pittcon 2025 in Boston will connect industry experts to combat the synthetic psychedelic threat, enhancing testing protocols and public health initiatives.

From Pittcon 10 Jan 2025

Study questions accuracy of genetic test for opioid use disorder

Opioid misuse and specifically opioid use disorder (OUD), continues to represent a significant U.S. public health threat, with more than 6 million Americans aged 12 and older meeting the criteria for OUD in 2022.

9 Jan 2025

Study reveals significant increase in recreational ketamine use among adults

A recent study analyzing data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) found that past-year recreational ketamine use among adults has increased dramatically since 2015, including significant shifts in associations with depression and sociodemographic characteristics such as race, age and education status.

7 Jan 2025

Non-opioid pain relief proven more effective after wisdom teeth removal

A combination of acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) controls pain after wisdom tooth removal better than opioids, according to a Rutgers Health study that could change how dentists treat post-surgical pain.

6 Jan 2025

Stimulant users are caught in fatal ‘fourth wave’ of opioid epidemic

In Pawtucket, Rhode Island, near a storefront advertising "free" cellphones, J.R. sat in an empty back stairwell and showed a reporter how he tries to avoid overdosing when he smokes crack cocaine.

3 Jan 2025

Syringe exchange fears hobble fight against West Virginia HIV outbreak

More than three years have passed since federal health officials arrived in central Appalachia to assess an alarming outbreak of HIV spread mostly between people who inject opioids or methamphetamine.

3 Jan 2025

Nonpharmacologic pain intervention provides benefits to people with dialysis-dependent kidney failure

Among people with dialysis-dependent kidney failure, a form of psychological therapy called pain coping skills training reduced how much pain got in the way of their daily lives, also known as pain interference.

30 Dec 2024

Caseworkers coax homeless people out of Las Vegas’ tunnels for treatment

Case manager Bryon Johnson flashed a light into a dark tunnel beneath the glitz of the Las Vegas Strip on a recent fall afternoon. He stepped into an opening in a concrete ditch littered with trash and discarded clothing to search an underground world for his homeless clients.

23 Dec 2024

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': End-of-year chaos on Capitol Hill

After weeks of painstaking negotiations, Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate agreed to a major year-end package of health bills, including new regulations for drug companies and pharmacy benefit managers, and renewals of programs to combat opioid abuse and prepare for the next possible pandemic.

19 Dec 2024

How are states spending opioid settlement cash? We built a database of answers

In the past few years, state and local governments across the U.S. have begun spending billions in opioid settlements paid by companies accused of fueling the overdose crisis. But where is that money going, who is getting it, and is it doing any good?

16 Dec 2024

Structural and functional brain changes found in individuals with opioid use disorder

Researchers at the Yale School of Medicine found structural and functional alterations in specific brain regions of individuals with opioid use disorder.

10 Dec 2024

Obese patients can manage pain without opioids after bariatric surgery

Obese patients undergoing bariatric surgery can manage without opioids, according to a thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

10 Dec 2024

$1.5 million grant supports alternatives to opioids initiative at University Hospitals

A grant of nearly $1.5 million from the Department of Health and Human Services through its Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will enable University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center to develop and implement an Alternatives to Opioids (ALTO) program within its Emergency Department (ED).

6 Dec 2024

Boosting endocannabinoids could reduce opioid addiction risk

Increasing the levels of chemicals naturally produced in the body called endocannabinoids may thwart the highly addictive nature of opioids such as morphine and oxycodone while maintaining the drugs' ability to relieve pain, according to Weill Cornell Medicine investigators working with researchers from The Center for Youth Mental Health at NewYork-Presbyterian.

2 Dec 2024

New oral peptide therapy offers hope for chronic abdominal pain

A research team at the University of Vienna, led by medicinal chemist Markus Muttenthaler, has developed a new class of oral peptide therapeutic leads for treating chronic abdominal pain.

22 Nov 2024

Millions of Americans affected by secondhand harm from substance use

The risks of alcohol and other drug consumption to the user are well known, but many Americans--nearly 160 million--say they've been harmed by someone else's substance use, according to a new study in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

21 Nov 2024

Low-dose ketamine may be an effective adjunct analgesic to morphine for managing acute pain

A new study that investigates low-dose ketamine (LDK) as an adjunct to morphine for treating acute pain has been published in the October issue of Academic Emergency Medicine (AEM), the peer-reviewed journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM).

19 Nov 2024

Small Solutions for Big Problems in Drug Discovery and Delivery

Ijeoma Uchegbu discusses nanomedicine's role in improving medication adherence and developing non-addictive pain relief solutions at ELRIG Drug Discovery 2024.

19 Nov 2024