Heroin News and Research

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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.

New data shows opioid overdose deaths hit record levels in 2014

From 2000 to 2014 nearly half a million Americans died from drug overdoses. Opioid overdose deaths, including both opioid pain relievers and heroin, hit record levels in 2014, with an alarming 14 percent increase in just one year, according to new data published today in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

20 Dec 2015

Drug use remains stable among teens, MTF survey shows

The 2015 Monitoring the Future survey (MTF) shows decreasing use of a number of substances, including cigarettes, alcohol, prescription opioid pain relievers, and synthetic cannabinoids ("synthetic marijuana"). Other drug use remains stable, including marijuana, with continued high rates of daily use reported among 12th graders, and ongoing declines in perception of its harms.

17 Dec 2015

Access to harm reduction programs vey low in rural and suburban areas affected by HIV infections

Access to harm reduction programs such as syringe exchange is lowest in rural and suburban areas, where rates of addiction to heroin and other opioids are on the rise, according to a study led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published online today in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

12 Dec 2015

Motivational interviewing helps curb prescription opioid abuse among older adults with chronic pain

Prescription opioid abuse has reached epidemic proportions, with more than half of patients being treated for chronic pain reportedly misusing their medication at some point.

8 Dec 2015

TSRI researchers awarded $1.6 million grant to advance preclinical studies of potential heroin vaccine

Now researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have been awarded a prestigious Translational Avant-Garde Award, which supports the development of medications for substance abuse disorders, from the National Institutes of Health National Institute on Drug Abuse.

20 Nov 2015

FDA approves Narcan nasal spray to prevent or reverse effects of opioid overdose

Today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Narcan nasal spray, the first FDA-approved nasal spray version of naloxone hydrochloride, a life-saving medication that can stop or reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Opioids are a class of drugs that include prescription medications such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and morphine, as well as the illegal drug heroin.

18 Nov 2015

Women need different treatment from men with addiction, says McMaster University-led study

Painkillers prescribed by doctors are the starting point for an opioid addiction for more than half of female methadone clinic patients, and they need different treatment from men with addiction, says a study led by McMaster University researchers.

10 Nov 2015

MSU professor finds surprising results about drug use behaviors

Conducting an economic analysis of drug use is a particularly difficult endeavor, but for Michigan State University professor and economist Siddharth Chandra, it just meant taking a look at the history books.

6 Nov 2015

University of Leicester awarded BBSRC grant to explore three key areas that impact human health

The University of Leicester has been awarded over £1.5 million in order to advance knowledge and understanding in three key areas that impact on health.

5 Nov 2015

New computer-based modeling may help improve outcomes for babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome

Computer-based modeling is helping to further reduce length of hospital stay and duration of treatment with opioids that are used therapeutically to wean babies born in withdrawal from drugs their mothers have taken. This condition is known as neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS).

30 Oct 2015

New research reveals regional variations in use of heroin and prescription painkillers

New research shows that drug abusers are not completely abandoning prescription opioids for heroin. Instead, many use the two concurrently based on their availability, according to a survey of 15,000 patients at drug-treatment centers in 49 states.

29 Oct 2015

Misuse of prescription drugs common among U.S. college students

Seven out of 10 college students say it is somewhat or very easy to obtain controlled stimulants without a prescription, according to a new survey conducted on eight U.S. campuses.

19 Oct 2015

Brief counseling in primary care setting could help reduce risky drug use among patients

A few minutes of counseling in a primary care setting could go a long way toward steering people away from risky drug use -- and possibly full-fledged addiction, a UCLA-led study suggests.

19 Oct 2015

Nonmedical use of prescription opioids drops but overdose death rates rise in U.S.

From 2003 to 2013, the percentage of nonmedical use of prescription opioids decreased among adults in the U.S., while the prevalence of prescription opioid use disorders, frequency of use, and related deaths increased, according to a study in the October 13 issue of JAMA.

15 Oct 2015

BDSI announces FDA approval of BUNAVAIL sNDA for manufacturing specification change

BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the company's Supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for a manufacturing specification change for BUNAVAIL (buprenorphine and naloxone) buccal film (CIII).

15 Oct 2015

FDA accepts Braeburn's resubmission of Probuphine NDA for review

Braeburn Pharmaceuticals, an Apple Tree Partners company, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted Braeburn's resubmission of the Probuphine New Drug Application (NDA) for review and set February 27, 2016 as the target date for Agency action.

28 Sep 2015

New treatment protocol can improve outcomes for babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome

A new protocol to treat babies born in withdrawal from drugs can be used widely to improve outcomes for these babies. The protocol reduces length of stay and the duration of treatment with opioids that are used therapeutically to wean babies off of drugs.

14 Sep 2015

Two St. Louis institutions collaborate to create Center for Clinical Pharmacology

St. Louis College of Pharmacy and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are joining forces to find better, safer and more effective ways to use prescription medications to improve health. Researchers from the two institutions are collaborating to create the Center for Clinical Pharmacology.

14 Sep 2015

Psychosis, hepatitis C infection are greatest risk factors for mortality in marginalized Vancouver residents

Marginalized residents of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside are dying at more than eight times the national average, and treatable conditions are the greatest risk factors for mortality, researchers at the University of British Columbia have found.

11 Sep 2015

Research findings may help explain why drug treatments for addiction, depression are not always effective

New research may help explain why drug treatments for addiction and depression don't work for some patients. The conditions are linked to reward and aversion responses in the brain. Working in mice, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered brain pathways linked to reward and aversion behaviors are in such close proximity that they unintentionally could be activated at the same time.

3 Sep 2015