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Using cannabis alongside other drugs may lead to harmful drug-drug interactions

Using cannabis alongside other drugs may come with a significant risk of harmful drug-drug interactions, new research by scientists at Washington State University suggests.

13 Dec 2021

New approaches needed to address the U.S. opioid epidemic

To address the U.S. opioid epidemic, policies and guidelines have focused primarily on reducing opioid prescribing and restricting supply. Accordingly, opioid prescribing decreased 38% in the past decade.

7 Dec 2021

Hospitals refused to give patients ivermectin. Lockdowns and political pressure followed.

One Montana hospital went into lockdown and called police after a woman threatened violence because her relative was denied her request to be treated with ivermectin.

2 Dec 2021

Northwestern researchers continue to tackle every facet of COVID-19 pandemic

As the COVID-19 pandemic nears the two-year mark, Northwestern Medicine scientists continue to tackle every facet of the disease, from investigating coronavirus vaccines' potential for providing immunity against similar coronaviruses to developing novel rapid antigen-based tests and examining disparities in COVID-19 case and mortality rates in Chicago.

30 Nov 2021

UW researchers develop a wearable device to detect and reverse opioid overdose

A research team at the University of Washington has developed a wearable device to detect and reverse an opioid overdose.

22 Nov 2021

Clinic-based review board helps reduce opioid prescribing

An internal medicine clinic at Oregon Health & Science University has sharply reduced the amount of opioids prescribed though innovative use of a review board comprising a team of health care professionals from various disciplines to ensure patients' needs are being met.

9 Nov 2021

As overdose deaths soar, DEA-wary pharmacies shy from dispensing addiction medication

When Martin Njoku saw opioid addiction devastate his West Virginia community, he felt compelled to help. This was the place he'd called home for three decades, where he'd raised his two girls and turned his dream of owning a pharmacy into reality.

9 Nov 2021

Relaxing limits on take-home methadone did not lead to worse outcomes

Relaxing limits on take-home doses of methadone - a medication used to treat opioid addiction - does not appear to lead to worse treatment outcomes, according to a new study led by Washington State University researchers.

1 Nov 2021

CDC launches complementary education campaigns to save more lives from drug overdose

To save more lives from drug overdose, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently launched four complementary education campaigns intended to reach young adults ages 18 - 34 years.

30 Oct 2021

Research indicates increasing rates of crash deaths involving both alcohol and cannabis

New research indicates that between 2000 and 2018, the percentage of car crash deaths in the United States involving cannabis have doubled, and the percentage of deaths involving both cannabis and alcohol, have more than doubled.

29 Oct 2021

Study focuses on the high hepatitis C rates in pregnant people

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can lead to long-term health problems including liver damage, liver failure, cirrhosis, liver cancer and even death. These outcomes are especially dangerous for pregnant people and their babies.

29 Oct 2021

Study highlights major role of polysubstance use in drug overdose risk

Even as the opioid epidemic dominated national attention over the past decade, the rate of overdose deaths involving cocaine, methamphetamine and other stimulants tripled, a new study in veterans suggests.

21 Oct 2021

Women may be more vulnerable to drug addiction and addiction-like behaviors than men

The results of several new studies focusing on sex differences in pain and addiction indicate females could be more susceptible to drug addiction and addiction-like behaviors than males. Researchers also explored the role of lack of sleep on the likeliness to relapse. This is due in part to hormone differences in females and males. Data from the studies will be presented virtually October 19–22 at the American Physiological Society's seventh conference on New Trends in Sex and Gender Medicine.

20 Oct 2021

Study finds a downward trend in buprenorphine misuse among U.S. adults with opioid use disorder

Data from a nationally representative survey indicate that in 2019, nearly three-fourths of U.S. adults reporting buprenorphine use did not misuse the medication in the past 12 months.

15 Oct 2021

Researchers explore how opioids may have become so widely abused

Researchers may have uncovered new answers on how to create safer opioids. Design a new opioid to bypass the part of brain that feels pleasure, but retain the analgesic properties, which make opioids one of the most effective pain relievers.

15 Oct 2021

Medicinal plant extract could potentially help curb the opioid epidemic

The extract of the plant Corydalis yanhusuo prevents morphine tolerance and dependence while also reversing opiate addiction, according to a recent study led by the University of California, Irvine. The findings were published in the October issue of the journal Pharmaceuticals.

12 Oct 2021

Prescriptions for prenatal substance use disorder treatment fell in US during COVID-19 pandemic

Researchers have shown that the number of prescriptions filled out for a treatment associated with improved pregnancy outcomes among individuals with substance use disorder declined in the United States as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continued.