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Early discharge of infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome may prolong their treatment, shows study

Infants who are diagnosed with drug withdrawal after birth who are treated with medication as outpatients at home are treated three times longer than infants treated solely as inpatients, according to a new Vanderbilt study

10 May 2018

Scientists developing new vaccines against heroin and prescription opioids

Heroin and prescription opioid abuse and fatal overdoses are a public health emergency in the United States. Vaccines offer a potential new strategy to treat opioid abuse and prevent fatal opioid overdoses.

12 Apr 2018

Staying alive: How to fight an opioid addiction

If you or a loved one wants to beat an opioid addiction, first make sure you have a handy supply of naloxone, a medication that can reverse an overdose and save your life.

2 Apr 2018

New Canadian guideline lays out optimal strategies for treatment of opioid addiction

A new Canadian guideline for managing opioid use disorders lays out the optimal strategies for the treatment of opioid addiction, including recommending opioid agonist treatment with buprenorphine-naloxone as the preferred first-line treatment.

5 Mar 2018

Death in the family: An uncle’s overdose spurs Medicaid official to change course

Andrey Ostrovsky's family did not discuss what killed his uncle. He was young, not quite two weeks past his 45th birthday, when he died, and he had lost touch with loved ones in his final months. Ostrovsky speculated he had committed suicide.

29 Jan 2018

Infants born in withdrawal due to opioid exposure in utero show abnormalities

A new study of infants born in withdrawal due to opioid exposure in utero shows a dramatic increase in torticollis - an abnormal twisting of the neck. Many of the infants also had plagiocephaly - a flattening of the head often seen in conjunction with torticollis.

22 Jan 2018

Rise in infants with physical abnormalities is linked to opioid exposure during pregnancy, finds study

New research finds a dramatic increase in physical abnormalities in newborns caused by opioid exposure during pregnancy.

22 Jan 2018

Efforts to reverse opioid epidemic remain beset by stigma

Efforts to reverse the nation's opioid epidemic remain beset by the stigma associated with drug use, a group of OHSU researchers write in a year-end review.

10 Jan 2018

Study characterizes effects of opioids on brain proteins other than opioid receptors

In a new study, researchers have characterized the effects of a series of opioids on proteins in the brain other than opioid receptors.

6 Dec 2017

Doctors make big money testing urine for drugs, then ignore abnormal results

In April 2014, state and federal drug agents raided Jeffrey Campbell's medical clinic in Jeffersonville, Ind. Police cars blocked the parking lot as bewildered patients scattered and the agents carted off boxes of records from the doctor's office.

29 Nov 2017

Researchers find link between negative emotions and higher opioid use in people with sickle cell disease

In a small study using data from daily electronic patient diaries, Johns Hopkins researchers say they have found a link between negative emotions, such as sadness and anxiety, and higher opioid use in people with sickle cell disease whose pain levels were self-reported as relatively low.

27 Nov 2017

Medicaid coverage for methadone could improve outcomes for pregnant women with OUD

Pregnant women with opioid use disorder (OUD) are more likely to receive evidence-based treatment with an "opioid agonist"- usually methadone- in states where those medications are covered by Medicaid, reports a study in the December issue of Medical Care, published by Wolters Kluwer.

14 Nov 2017

New inpatient program can be powerful tool to close gap in addiction treatment

A new program at Boston Medical Center's Grayken Center for Addiction is showing that connecting patients to addiction treatment when they are hospitalized for other conditions can be a powerful tool in closing a gap in addiction treatment.

8 Nov 2017

HCV screening or diagnosis could lower non‐prescribed opioid use

Research presented this week at The Liver Meeting – held by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases – shows people in treatment for opioid substance abuse significantly lowered their non‐prescribed opioid use after testing positive for hepatitis C virus.

20 Oct 2017

New study shows possibility of battling opioid addiction in primary care

For many of the 2 million Americans addicted to opioids, getting good treatment and getting off prescription painkillers or heroin may seem like a far-off dream.

17 Oct 2017

Medicare plans place few restrictions on coverage of prescription opioids, Yale study finds

Medicare plans place few restrictions on the coverage of prescription opioids, despite federal guidelines recommending such restrictions, a new Yale study finds. The research results highlight an untapped opportunity for Medicare formularies to limit opioid prescribing, the researchers said.

10 Oct 2017

Researchers use zebrafish animal model to explore drug-seeking behavior

As the opioid crisis escalates, the science behind addiction remains poorly understood. To address this need, researchers at University of Utah Health devised a system that allowed zebrafish, a small tropical fish, to self-administer doses of hydrocodone, an opioid commonly prescribed to people for pain.

26 Aug 2017