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The new MADD movement: Parents rise up against drug deaths

Life as he knew it ended for Matt Capelouto two days before Christmas in 2019, when he found his 20-year-old daughter, Alexandra, dead in her childhood bedroom in Temecula, California. Rage overtook grief when authorities ruled her death an accident.

23 May 2022

New app aims to provide vital support to people battling opioid-use disorder

With opioid-overdose deaths reaching an all-time high during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new app developed at UVA Health is helping people struggling with opioids get the care they need.

19 May 2022

Quality of drug supply declined in Vancouver during the COVID-19 pandemic, study finds

More than a third of people who use drugs in Vancouver, Canada reported a decline in the quality of drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

11 May 2022

Lifesaving drug for opioid use disorder underutilized

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Saint Louis University found that less than half of Americans who received treatment for opioid use disorder over a five-year period were offered a potentially lifesaving medication.

10 May 2022

Rigaku Announces Narcotics Interdiction Partnership Program to Help Reduce Deaths by Overdose

Rigaku Analytical Devices, a U.S.-based pioneer of handheld 1064 nm-Raman based spectrometers, is pleased to announce its new Human Infrastructure Health & Awareness (HIHA) Technology Narcotics Identification Partnership Program.

From Rigaku Analytical Devices 10 May 2022

National addiction treatment locator has outdated data and other critical flaws

At a psychiatric hospital in Michigan, Dr. Cara Poland's patients were handed a sheet of paper to find follow-up care. The hospital had entered local ZIP codes on a website — run by the nation's top substance use and mental health agency — and printed the resulting list of providers for patients to call.

9 May 2022

Study finds brain circuit controlling drug withdrawal-induced anxiety and reinstatement

New research from the University of California, Irvine, finds that drug withdrawal-induced anxiety and reinstatement of drug seeking behaviors are controlled by a single pathway in the brain and centered around dopamine cells.

4 May 2022

University of Arizona, Oklahoma State University join forces to combat opioid crisis and chronic pain

Robert C. Robbins, MD, president of the University of Arizona, and Kayse Shrum, DO, president of Oklahoma State University, today announced the two institutions’ academic medical centers have joined forces to combat the opioid crisis and chronic pain through research, treatment and education.

30 Apr 2022

LA mayoral hopefuls agree addressing homelessness is crucial but disagree on how

As encampments multiply from Echo Park to Venice, homelessness has been the top issue in the L.A. mayoral race. And although Angelenos express broad support for building more housing for the homeless, the contenders say that can be only part of the solution.

29 Apr 2022

Physicians are uneasy as Colorado collects providers’ diversity data

Shaunti Meyer, a certified nurse-midwife and medical director at STRIDE Community Health Center in Colorado, doesn't usually disclose her sexual orientation to patients. But at times it feels appropriate.

25 Apr 2022

Monoclonal-antibody combination AZD7442 prevents COVID-19

In a recent study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers examined the monoclonal-antibody combination AZD7442 to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

25 Apr 2022

Study examines changes in postpartum insurance coverage in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic

It's been the case for decades - high numbers of U.S. women who give birth lose or face changes to their health insurance afterward. And those with Medicaid benefits are most likely to lose coverage, because pregnancy-related Medicaid ends after 60 days postpartum, and eligibility for parents is much more restrictive.

22 Apr 2022

Disasters can disrupt access to medications for opioid use disorder in vulnerable communities

The COVID-19 pandemic has spiked the overdose death rate from opioid use. For people who rely on medications (buprenorphine, methadone, and extended-release naltrexone) to treat opioid use disorders, the pandemic and such natural disasters as tornados, hurricanes, and wildfires can disrupt access to medications.

20 Apr 2022

UK experts share their work in the field of opioid use disorder research at 2022 Rx Summit

University of Kentucky experts on the front lines of the nation's opioid and addiction crises will share their work in the field of opioid use disorder research, treatment and prevention this week at the 2022 Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit in Atlanta April 18-22.

19 Apr 2022

Study finds US life expectancy decreased between 2019 and 2020 on a scale not seen in 21 peer countries

Researchers calculated the changes in the life expectancy of United States residents due to the COVID-19 pandemic between 2019 and 2020 stratified by race and sex.

18 Apr 2022

Researchers identify 16 distinct cell populations in a key brain region for substance use disorders

In a work of systematic biology that advances the field, University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers have identified 16 distinct cell populations in a complex area of the midbrain called the ventral tegmental area, or VTA.

18 Apr 2022

Never-ending costs: When resolved medical bills keep popping up

Every now and then, Suzanne Rybak and her husband, Jim, receive pieces of mail addressed to their deceased son, Jameson. Typically, it's junk mail that requires little thought, Suzanne said.

7 Apr 2022

$11M for North Carolina work-based rehab raises concerns

An addiction treatment facility, highly regarded by North Carolina lawmakers, sits in a residential neighborhood here and operates like a village in itself.

6 Apr 2022

Study: More than two-thirds of the patients recover from knee replacement without opioids

A retrospective case series study led by Dr. Vinod Dasa, Professor of Clinical Orthopaedics at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, reports that more than two-thirds of the patients who underwent total knee replacement did not need opioids for postoperative pain.

25 Mar 2022

Can melatonin gummies solve family bedtime struggles? Experts advise caution

For three exhausting years, Lauren Lockwood tried to get her son Rex to sleep through the night. As an infant, he couldn't sleep without a blanket over his carrier to drown out the world around him.

24 Mar 2022