Opioid Addiction News and Research

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Study provides new estimates of opioid misuse, addiction

New estimates suggest that 20 to 30 percent of opioid analgesic drugs prescribed for chronic pain are misused, while the rate of opioid addiction is approximately 10 percent, reports a study in the April issue of PAIN, the official journal of the International Association for the Study of Pain.

31 Mar 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 findings could offer roadmap for preventing deaths from drug overdoses

Results from a new study show that participants in drug overdose education programs tend to be parents (mostly mothers) who provide financial support for their son/daughter, have daily contact with their loved one, have applied for court-mandated treatment and have witnessed an overdose.

2 Feb 2015

Month-long residential program helps young adults stay drug-free

Residential treatment may be an appropriate first-line option for young adults who are dependent on opioid drugs - including prescription painkillers and heroin - and may result in higher levels of abstinence than does the outpatient treatment that is currently the standard of care.

21 Nov 2014

DEA announces that unused prescription pills can be returned to pharmacies

Seeking to combat growing drug abuse problems, federal authorities will allow patients and their relatives to take excess pills, such as opioid painkillers, to hospitals, clinics and pharmacies or to mail them to authorized sites.

10 Sep 2014

Low dose of opioids including methadone effective for treatment of testosterone suppression

Treatment for opioid addiction tampers with the testosterone levels of male but not female opioid users, McMaster University research has shown.

26 Aug 2014

State highlights: Time of turmoil for Georgia hospitals; Oregon Medicaid takes aim at expensive heptatitis C drug

A selection of health policy stories from Gerogia, Wisconsin, Texas, Oregon, Florida, Michigan, Massachusetts, Connecticut and North Carolina.

4 Aug 2014

Naltrexone may be effective in diminishing ICD symptoms in PD patients, study finds

Up to 20 percent of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and their families may confront a common but largely unrecognized challenge: the occurrence of impulse control disorders (ICDs) such as compulsive gambling, sexual behavior, eating, or spending.

31 Jul 2014

BioDelivery Sciences receives approval of NDA for BUNAVAIL from FDA

BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. received approval of the New Drug Application (NDA) for BUNAVAIL™ (buprenorphine and naloxone) buccal film (CIII) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

9 Jun 2014

HHS calls health care providers to expand use of medications to treat opioid addiction, reduce overdose deaths

A national response to the epidemic of prescription opioid overdose deaths was outlined yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine by leaders of agencies in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

26 Apr 2014

Methadone safety: New clinical practice guideline from American Pain Society

Improved physician education and patient counseling about methadone safety and ECG monitoring to identify patients at high risk for cardiac problems will lead to safer use of the medication, according to the American Pain Society's Clinical Practice Guideline on Methadone Safety, published this week in The Journal of Pain.

26 Apr 2014

Researcher develops novel IBT to help opioid-dependent Vermonters

Opioid dependence - addiction to heroin and prescription painkillers - has reached epidemic levels across the country, with treatment waitlists also at an all-time high.

11 Apr 2014

Study shows important parallels between epidemic of HIV/AIDS and opioid addiction

There are important parallels between the early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the current epidemic of opioid addiction - ones that could trigger a significant shift in opioid addiction prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

2 Apr 2014

Opiate use alters activity of specific protein needed for normal functioning of brain's reward center

Identifying the specific pathways that promote opioid addiction, pain relief, and tolerance are crucial for developing more effective and less dangerous analgesics, as well as developing new treatments for addiction.

25 Feb 2014

FSMB joins with partners to educate health care professionals on safe prescribing of opioid analgesics

The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and FSMB Foundation are collaborating with several partners to provide state medical boards with resources to educate health care professionals on the safe and responsible prescribing of extended-release (ER) and long-acting (LA) opioid analgesics for patients with chronic pain.

22 Jan 2014

Aetna is helping to reverse abuse of prescription painkillers

Abuse of prescription painkillers, known as opioids, is a widespread and growing problem in the United States. The epidemic adds billions of dollars to health care, work place and criminal justice costs each year.

10 Jan 2014

Over 50% of nonsurgical patients prescribed opioids during hospitalizations, analysis finds

Amid a growing climate of concern regarding the overuse of opioid pain medications, a comprehensive analysis of more than 1 million hospital admissions has found that over 50 percent of all nonsurgical patients were prescribed opioids during their hospitalizations -- often at very high doses -- and that more than half of those exposed were still receiving these medications on the day they were discharged from the hospital.

14 Nov 2013

Study: Opioid prescribing for non-cancer pain increases

Prescribing of strong opioid medications for non-cancer pain in the United States has nearly doubled over the past decade, reports a study in the October issue of Medical Care, published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

16 Sep 2013

Expansion of heroin, opioid medical treatment needed to reduce overdose deaths

A new report from Simon Fraser University researcher Bohdan Nosyk calls for the expansion of heroin and opioid medical treatment to stem the increase of overdose deaths.

7 Aug 2013

New Mexico Medicaid overhaul OK'd

Medicaid recipients will face co-pays for some treatments and have their medical services tracked as part of a program overhaul that is intended to lower the costs of providing health care, Gov. Susana Martinez's administration announced Monday. There will be no changes in determining who qualifies for Medicaid, which serves about a quarter of New Mexico's population (Massey, 7/15).

16 Jul 2013