Substance Use Disorder News and Research

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Telemedicine and peer support show promise in treating hepatitis C in rural areas

New research reveals a dramatic improvement in diagnosing and curing people living with hepatitis C in rural communities using both telemedicine and support from peers with lived experience in drug use.

27 Nov 2024

Millions of Americans affected by secondhand harm from substance use

The risks of alcohol and other drug consumption to the user are well known, but many Americans--nearly 160 million--say they've been harmed by someone else's substance use, according to a new study in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

21 Nov 2024

GLP-1 drugs, like semaglutide, lower risk of hospitalizations for alcohol use disorder

Findings suggest semaglutide and other GLP-1 agonists may significantly reduce alcohol use disorder hospitalizations, warranting further clinical investigation.

18 Nov 2024

GLP-1 agonists linked to fewer hospitalizations in alcohol use disorder patients

A new joint study by the University of Eastern Finland and Karolinska Institutet in Sweden found that the GLP-1 agonists semaglutide and liraglutide, which are used for treating diabetes and obesity, were associated with fewer hospitalizations among individuals with alcohol use disorder, AUD.

13 Nov 2024

12 states promised to open the books on their opioid settlement funds. We checked up on them.

To discover how millions in opioid settlement funds are being spent in Idaho, you can visit the state attorney general's website, which hosts 91 documents from state and local entities getting the money.

7 Nov 2024

UC San Diego receives $8 million grant to study the genetics of substance use disorder

University of California San Diego School of Medicine has received a five-year, $8 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to study the genetics of substance use disorders.

28 Oct 2024

Scurvy is not just an 18th-century seafarers' disease, study shows

Scurvy, or vitamin C deficiency, is not just an 18th-century seafarers' disease, as a case study of a 65-year-old woman with mobility issues and social isolation shows.

7 Oct 2024

A decade of CCBHCs enhances access to mental health care across the U.S.

A decade after the establishment of the certified community behavioral health clinic (CCBHC) model, more than 60 percent of the US population has access to such facilities and the mental health and substance use disorder treatment services they provide, according to a new study led by researchers at the NYU School of Global Public Health.

4 Oct 2024

COVID-19 vaccine uptake higher in people with mental illness but drops for those not on medication

Researchers examined the link between mental illness and COVID-19 vaccine uptake, finding high vaccination rates but lower uptake among unmedicated individuals with mental health conditions.

1 Oct 2024

Unmedicated mental health conditions linked to lower COVID-19 vaccination rates

Vaccination coverage for COVID-19 is high in both people with and without mental illness, according to a large multinational study led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and published in Nature Communications.

26 Sep 2024

Higher doses of buprenorphine linked to lower emergency visits in opioid use disorder

Adults with opioid use disorder who receive a higher daily dose of the opioid addiction treatment medication buprenorphine may have a lower risk of subsequent emergency department visits or use of inpatient services related to behavioral health (such as for mental health and substance use disorders) than adults receiving the recommended dose, according to an analysis funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

25 Sep 2024

Study reveals limited access to opioid treatment in US jails

A new look into addiction treatment availability in the U.S. criminal justice system reveals that fewer than half (43.8%) of 1,028 jails surveyed across the nation offered any form of medication for opioid use disorder, and only 12.8% made these available to anyone with the disorder.

24 Sep 2024

Hospital discharges against medical advice tied to increased overdose risk

People who initiate a premature or "before medically advised" (BMA) hospital discharge have a 10-fold increase in the risk of drug overdose in the following month, according to new research in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.240364.

23 Sep 2024

Fighting staff shortages with scholarships, California bill aims to boost mental health courts

A seemingly innocuous proposal to offer scholarships for mental health workers in California's new court-ordered treatment program has sparked debate over whether the state should prioritize that program or tackle a wider labor shortage in behavioral health services.

20 Sep 2024

New curriculum aims to address substance use disorders in medical education

Nearly 6,000 opioid-related overdose deaths occurred in California in 2021, many due to fentanyl, a synthetic opioid.

19 Sep 2024

GLP-1 receptor agonists show promise in treating substance use disorders

A systematic review reveals that GLP-1 receptor agonists may help reduce certain substance use disorders, but findings are inconsistent due to study variability and patient differences.

9 Sep 2024

APDI provides $200,000 in grants to advance pediatric substance use disorder devices

The Alliance for Pediatric Device Innovation (APDI), a nonprofit consortium led by Children's National Hospital and funded through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), announces today the recipients of grants totaling $200,000 to advance pediatric medical devices that improve the monitoring, diagnosis or treatment of youth suffering from substance use disorder and addiction.

4 Sep 2024

Addressing the gender gap in substance abuse treatment

Woman with opioid use disorder and who are also involved with the criminal legal system face unique challenges and stigmas that may keep them from seeking substance use treatment and harm reduction tools that could prevent overdose deaths, according to new research led by a team from Penn State.

28 Aug 2024

Public voices often ignored in states’ opioid settlement money decisions

The conversation wasn't sounding good for Kensington residents on June 20. The Philadelphia neighborhood is a critical center of the nation's opioid crisis, and the city had decided to spend $7.5 million in opioid settlement money to improve the quality of life there.

27 Aug 2024

Renewed interest in psychedelics as potential addiction therapies

After years of being seen as dangerous "party drugs," psychedelic substances are receiving renewed attention as therapies for addiction -- but far more research is needed, according to a new special series of articles in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, published at Rutgers University.

26 Aug 2024