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Addressing the gender gap in substance abuse treatment

Woman with opioid use disorder and who are also involved with the criminal legal system face unique challenges and stigmas that may keep them from seeking substance use treatment and harm reduction tools that could prevent overdose deaths, according to new research led by a team from Penn State.

28 Aug 2024

NIH funds study on psychedelics' potential to treat methamphetamine addiction

John McCorvy, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology, and Anatomy at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW); Adam Halberstadt, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) and Director of the UCSD Center for Psychedelic Research; and Kevin Murnane, PhD, Associate Professor of Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Neuroscience and Director of Basic Science Research for the Louisiana Addiction Research Center at LSU Health Shreveport, were recently awarded a five-year, $2.4 million research grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to uncover critical insights into how psychedelics could be used as a therapeutic to treat methamphetamine addiction.

27 Aug 2024

Public voices often ignored in states’ opioid settlement money decisions

The conversation wasn't sounding good for Kensington residents on June 20. The Philadelphia neighborhood is a critical center of the nation's opioid crisis, and the city had decided to spend $7.5 million in opioid settlement money to improve the quality of life there.

27 Aug 2024

Trump drastically inflates annual fentanyl death numbers

Former President Donald Trump claimed at a recent campaign rally that more than 300,000 Americans are dying each year from the synthetic opioid drug fentanyl, and that the number of fentanyl overdoses was the "lowest" during his administration and has skyrocketed since.

23 Aug 2024

Study reveals potential benefits of naloxone in opioid-associated cardiac arrest

Patients who overdose on opioids and have a pulse are often given naloxone (Narcan) by first responders, a common life-saving measure.

21 Aug 2024

New implantable device could revolutionize opioid overdose response

A swine model to demonstrate the potential of an implantable system for opioid safety (iSOS).

19 Aug 2024

Study finds rising methamphetamine-related psychiatric hospitalizations in the U.S.

A new study, out now in Drug and Alcohol Dependence, that details trends among psychiatric hospitalizations between 2015-2019 finds that while most hospitalizations did not involve any substances, methamphetamine-related hospitalizations have increased while overall number of psychiatric hospitalizations remained stable.

16 Aug 2024

NIH initiative empowers Native American communities in public health research

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has launched a program that will support Native American communities to lead public health research to address overdose, substance use, and pain, including related factors such as mental health and wellness.

15 Aug 2024

Study shows how segregated communities face challenges in filling OUD medications

Patients with a prescription for an opioid use disorder medication may have a tough time getting it filled if their pharmacy is in a community that's racially and economically segregated, according to a new study led by scientists at Oregon State University and Johns Hopkins University.

14 Aug 2024

Automated implant offers new hope for preventing opioid overdose deaths

Naloxone is an effective treatment for opioid overdose, but it usually requires a bystander to step in and administer it.

14 Aug 2024

MUSC researchers uncover the surprising role of the dorsal peduncular nucleus in opioid addiction

Opioids, like the commonly prescribed pain reliever oxycodone, are known for being highly addictive. In 2022, nearly 85,000 people died from an opioid overdose in the U.S. according to the Centers for Disease control.

12 Aug 2024

UMass Amherst and Tufts Medical Center launch study to improve HIV care for incarcerated individuals

The University of Massachusetts Amherst and Tufts Medical Center are conducting a study to provide HIV prevention, diagnosis and treatment for people with opioid use disorders who are incarcerated in the Boston area.

9 Aug 2024

Study: Drug-involved overdose deaths increased by over 500% in 2022

Drug-involved overdose deaths increased by over 500 percent in 2022 according to a study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, with trends attributed to synthetic opioids.

5 Aug 2024

Researchers identify strategy to design safer opioids

Opioid medications offer people relief from debilitating pain, but these drugs come with dangers: the risk for addiction, miserable withdrawal symptoms and the potential for fatal overdose.

2 Aug 2024

Hospital-based addiction program proves effective in treating opioid use disorder

Previous research has found that over 80 percent of people with opioid use disorder (OUD) do not receive evidence-based, lifesaving medications.

31 Jul 2024

Review identifies factors behind physicians' reluctance to use addiction treatments

Despite the high prevalence of addiction and substance use disorders in the United States, the number of physicians adopting evidence-based substance use disorder interventions in their clinical practice remains low.

30 Jul 2024

Hospital-based addiction consult services show promise in improving opioid use disorder treatment uptake

Previous research has found that over 80 percent of people with opioid use disorder (OUD) do not receive evidence-based lifesaving medications.

29 Jul 2024

Deciphering miRNA-mediated regulation of liver regeneration: New insights

The liver, a vital organ involved in numerous essential physiological processes such as bile production, plasma protein synthesis, nutrient absorption, detoxification, vitamin storage, macronutrient metabolism, and immune support, has a remarkable regenerative capacity.

29 Jul 2024

Opioid use disorder medications underused after injection-related infections

Deaths from injection-related infections like endocarditis have increased among young people, likely due to the growth of injection drug use and stronger, shorter-acting fentanyl.

24 Jul 2024

Rescue from above: How drones may narrow emergency response times

The drones are coming. Starting in September, if someone in Clemmons, North Carolina, calls 911 to report a cardiac arrest, the first responder on the scene may be a drone carrying an automated external defibrillator, or AED.

22 Jul 2024