Opioids News and Research

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An opioid is a chemical that works by binding to opioid receptors, which are found principally in the central nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract. The receptors in these two organ systems mediate both the beneficial effects and the side effects of opioids.

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

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

Physical therapy associated with lower odds of long-term opioid use after total knee replacement

The world's most common form of arthritis, knee osteoarthritis, causes sufferers pain and hurts their quality of life.

27 Oct 2021

Case Western Reserve secures $16 million to understand the relation between substance use and HIV

The use of opioids, methamphetamines, cocaine and other stimulants is the second-most-common cause of exposure to HIV among those in the United States diagnosed with the virus that causes AIDS.

25 Oct 2021

Molecular mechanism that controls the transition from acute to chronic pain revealed

A new study led by University of California, Irvine researchers is the first to reveal the specific molecular mechanism that controls the transition from acute to chronic pain, and identifies this mechanism as a critical target for disease-modifying medicines.

25 Oct 2021

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Dems agree to agree, but not on what to agree on

Meanwhile, Biden administration officials unveil plans to provide covid-19 vaccines to younger children without looking like they are prejudging the science, in an attempt to avoid the mixed messaging that presaged the rollout of booster doses for adults.

21 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

Watch: Going beyond the script of ‘Dopesick’ and America’s real-life opioid crisis

KHN and policy colleagues at our parent organization KFF teamed up with Hulu for a discussion of America’s opioid crisis, following the Oct. 13 premiere of the online streaming service's new series "Dopesick."

18 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

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The politics of vaccine mandates

Should covid vaccines be mandated? The answer to that question has become predictably partisan, as with almost everything else associated with the pandemic.

14 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

Oral acetaminophen helps manage tonsillectomy pain in children at lower costs

Providing children oral instead of intravenous (IV) acetaminophen to help manage tonsillectomy pain improves care at lower costs, according to research being presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2021 annual meeting.

11 Oct 2021

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Abortion politics front and center

Meanwhile, Congress flirted with disaster as it appeared unlikely to meet deadlines to approve a series of budget bills, including an extension of the federal government's lending authority. But lawmakers found ways to extend programs long enough to continue negotiating through the fall.

7 Oct 2021

Heroin overdose deaths more likely to occur shortly after hospital discharge

Drug-related deaths are four times more likely to occur in the two days after hospital discharge than at any other time among users of opioids such as heroin, according to research led by UCL, Public Health England (PHE) and King's College London.

6 Oct 2021

Fatal opioid overdoses four times more likely in the first two days after hospital discharge

The period after hospital discharge is a high-risk time for people who use illicit opioids such as heroin, according to new research publishing October 5th in the open access journal PLOS Medicine.

5 Oct 2021

'Think twice' campaign effective in reducing opioid prescribing in primary care

A campaign that urged GPs to 'think-twice' before putting a patient on opioid medicines is effective in reducing opioid prescribing in primary care, according to the findings of a major study.

5 Oct 2021

Legal consumption of alcohol and tobacco may increase the use of illicit drugs

The use of legal drugs (tobacco and alcohol) may lead to the use of cannabis, a new study led by the University of Bristol and published in the journal Addiction has found. The study also found evidence that cannabis use may lead to smoking initiation, and opioid dependence could lead to increased alcohol consumption.

30 Sep 2021

New SBIR award helps Temple scientists to explore the therapeutic potential of novel cannabis analog

More than 20 percent of adults in the United States live with chronic pain. For many affected individuals, long-term physical discomfort negatively impacts overall well-being, leading to reduced work output and increased anxiety and depression.

29 Sep 2021