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Study uncovers need to improve HCV testing rates in young people

A new study led by Boston Medical Center uncovered a need to improve testing rates for Hepatitis C Virus in young people, specifically those with documented substance use history.

10 Dec 2019

Computer betting game can help predict the likelihood of opioid reuse

A computer betting game can help predict the likelihood that someone recovering from opioid addiction will reuse the pain-relieving drugs, a new study shows.

8 Dec 2019

A patient's tolerance for risky decisions can predict chances of opioid relapse

People in treatment for opioid addiction are more likely to relapse when they become more tolerant of risks, according to a study by Rutgers and other institutions. The findings can help clinicians better predict which patients are most vulnerable.

8 Dec 2019

The role of adenosine in neurodegeneration and brain regeneration

The role of adenosine in neurodegeneration and neuroregeneration has led to growing attention on adenosine receptors as potential drug targets in a range of brain disorders, including neuroregenerative therapy and treatment for amyotrophyic lateral sclerosis.

8 Dec 2019

Study suggests two-way relationship between bullying perpetration and mental health problems

A new study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health suggests there is a two-way relationship between bullying perpetration and mental health problems among youth in the U.S.

4 Dec 2019

Findings could lead to new approach to treating alcohol use disorder

A single infusion of ketamine, combined with outpatient behavioral therapy, helped alcohol-dependent individuals abstain from drinking for a few weeks after the treatment, researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and New York State Psychiatric Institute have found.

4 Dec 2019

Built for counterterrorism, this high-tech machine is now used to detect fentanyl

Sarah Mackin runs a cotton swab around the inside of a tiny plastic baggie that appears empty. She spreads whatever residue the swab picked up onto a test strip that resembles a Band-Aid, then slides the strip into a buzzing machine about the size of a boxed, take-home pie.

4 Dec 2019

Study reveals clue to preventing addiction relapse

With any addiction in which a user has successfully resisted a chemical, activity or substance, relapse is vexing. And with opioids, it's often deadly. Fatal overdoses following relapse from an opioid addiction is reaching epidemic proportions.

2 Dec 2019

Risk of opioid overdose rises after de-addiction treatment completion

A study from Columbia University reveals that patients, who have been successfully treated with buprenorphine for opioid addiction, are at a greater risk of overdose after completion of the treatment. The study was titled, “Acute care, prescription opioid use, and overdose following discontinuation of long-term buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder”, and was published in the latest issue of The American Journal of Psychiatry. This study was funded and supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

2 Dec 2019

Consortium launches ambitious project to transform the treatment of pain

In an effort to address the critical public health need for new, safer and more effective medicines to treat pain, a consortium based at the Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School has launched an ambitious project titled STOP PAIN (Safe Therapeutic Options for Pain and Inflammation).

2 Dec 2019

Life expectancy in the United States steadily decreasing

Life expectancy in the United States is decreasing, and it may be due to the increasing rates of drug abuse and suicide, a new study finds.

27 Nov 2019

Deportation worries appear to double the risk of developing high blood pressure

In a four-year study of Mexican-born women who reside in an agricultural area of California, the worry of deportation appears to double their risk of developing high blood pressure, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the open access journal of the American Heart Association.

27 Nov 2019

Discrimination hampers successful addiction recovery

Even after resolving a problem with alcohol and other drugs, adults in recovery report experiencing both minor or "micro" forms of discrimination such as personal slights, and major or "macro" discrimination such as violation of their personal rights.

26 Nov 2019

Not yesterday’s cocaine: Death toll rising from tainted drug

A pain pill prescription for nerve damage revived Gwendolyn Barton's long-dormant addiction last year, awakening fears she would slip back into smoking crack cocaine.

25 Nov 2019

Study reveals how adults exposed to alcohol go on to develop compulsive drinking behaviors

Occasional binge drinking isn't uncommon, but about 30 percent of all adults exposed to alcohol go on to engage in compulsive drinking behaviors despite negative effects and consequences - a major feature of alcohol use disorder.

22 Nov 2019

Fentanyl-involved overdoses are concentrated in resource-deprived neighborhoods

Fentanyl overdoses cluster geographically more than non-fentanyl overdoses, according to a study just released by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

22 Nov 2019

Predicting opioid-related problems among cancer survivors

Opioids play an important role in how cancer patients manage pain, but the ongoing opioid epidemic has raised concerns about their potential for abuse.

22 Nov 2019

CU Anschutz to train students to prescribe buprenorphine products for opioid use disorder

As the nation struggles with a persistent epidemic of opioid addiction, the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is taking a critical step that will allow its graduates to better treat patients and save lives.

21 Nov 2019

Study shows increase in perceived harm of electronic cigarettes among U.S. adults

The number of U.S. adults who perceive e-cigarettes to be at as harmful as, or more harmful than, cigarettes has increased between 2017 and 2018, even prior to the national outbreak of vaping-related lung disease and deaths, a study by tobacco researchers from Georgia State University's School of Public Health has found.

21 Nov 2019