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Heroin is a very addictive chemical called diacetylmorphine. Heroin is a modified form of morphine, a highly abundant opium derived from the seedpods of the poppy plant.

What a U.S.-China trade war could mean for the opioid epidemic

The American struggle to curb opioid addiction could become collateral damage in President Donald Trump's showdown on trade.

6 Jul 2018

Heroin could could help patients with narcolepsy

A new study has found that users of heroin have high levels of a brain chemical called hypocretin. This hypocretin leads to “wakefulness” among the users and understanding this could help patients with narcolepsy.

29 Jun 2018

Illicit drug supply at record heights

According to a 2018 World Drug report released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) this week (26th June 2018) the supply of illicit drugs such as cocaine, opium and heroin have reached record heights.

28 Jun 2018

After opioid overdose, only 30 percent get medicine to treat addiction

More than 115 Americans die every day of opioid overdose. Many more survive thanks to the antidote medication, naloxone. But a study out Monday finds that just 3 in 10 patients revived by an EMT or in an emergency room received the follow-up medication known to avoid another life-threatening event.

19 Jun 2018

How America got hooked on a deadly drug

Purdue Pharma left almost nothing to chance in its whirlwind marketing of its new painkiller OxyContin.

13 Jun 2018

Research reveals potential new treatment for drug addiction relapse

Research published in Addiction Biology by scientists at the University of Bath reveals a new potential mechanism for combatting drug addiction relapse.

12 Jun 2018

Persistent substance use associated with higher risk of CKD progression and early death

In a study of patients with chronic kidney disease, persistent substance use - especially of hard illicit drugs - was linked with higher risks of CKD progression and early death. The findings appear in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

8 Jun 2018

Early-onset cannabis use linked to further drug abuse problems

What a difference a year or two can make: If you started smoking marijuana at the start of your teens, your risk of having a drug abuse problem by age 28 is 68 per cent, but if you started smoking between 15 and 17 your risk drops to 44 per cent, according to a new study by Université de Montréal researchers.

21 May 2018

Opioid overdoses are rising faster among Latinos than whites or blacks. Why?

The tall, gangly man twists a cone of paper in his hands as stories from nearly 30 years of addiction pour out: the robbery that landed him in prison at age 17; never getting his high school equivalency diploma; going through the horrors of detox, maybe 40 times, including this latest bout, which he finished two weeks ago. He’s now in a residential treatment unit for at least 30 days.

17 May 2018

New automated text messaging service may help combat opioid epidemic

A new automated text messaging service may curb opioid abuse and reduce the likelihood of relapse while also decreasing treatment costs, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine and Epharmix, a St. Louis-based digital health company.

17 Apr 2018

Study reveals prevalence of substance use and suicide among U.S. adolescents

Examining more than 20 years of national data for U.S. adolescents, a research team led by Andrew Subica at the University of California, Riverside reports that adolescents have high prevalence of alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use, and concerning rates of suicide-related thoughts and behaviors.

13 Apr 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

University of Minnesota wins five-year CTSA award to expand effort on scientific health research

The University of Minnesota's Clinical and Translational Science Institute received more than $42 million in renewed National Institutes of Health funding through the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences' Clinical and Translational Science Award program.

6 Apr 2018