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.

Experts outline new framework to improve care for opioid use disorder

Every day, more than 100 Americans lose their lives to the opioid crisis, and researchers from across the nation are racing to find solutions.

20 Nov 2019

PCORI Board approves $70 million to support projects designed to improve care for health conditions

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute Board of Governors today approved $70 million to fund 21 studies and related projects designed to improve care for health conditions that impose high burdens on patients, their families and the healthcare system.

19 Nov 2019

New drug 'ubrogepant' may work for migraine

A new study published in the November 19, 2019 issue of JAMA shows that a newly developed small molecule drug called ubrogepant may successfully fight migraine at doses of 25 and 50 mg, with pain relief at 2 hours with both doses, while the most troublesome symptom of migraine was held off at 2 hours post-dose with the 50 mg dose. This may help millions of migraine patients to achieve pain relief and function better.

19 Nov 2019

Cannabis cannot be used as a replacement drug for people with opioid use disorder

There has been interest in cannabis being used as a replacement drug for people with opioid use disorder, but research at McMaster University has found it doesn't work.

19 Nov 2019

Opioid dose tapering rates as much as six times higher than recommended

Stigma and safety fears have made daily dose tapering of opioid prescriptions more common. New research from UC Davis Health physicians, however, shows tapering can occur at rates as much as six times higher than recommended, putting patients at risk of withdrawal, uncontrolled pain or mental health crises.

18 Nov 2019

Surgeon general’s marijuana warning omits crucial context

Speaking about a recent federal advisory on marijuana, Dr. Jerome Adams, the surgeon general, put a new spin on long-standing admonitions about the drug.

15 Nov 2019

Adoption of state Prescription Drug Monitoring programs linked with death rates from heroin poisoning

A new study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health found a consistent association between the adoption of state Prescription Drug Monitoring programs (PDMP) and death rates from heroin poisoning.

14 Nov 2019

Opioid-free pain management guidelines released by Pitt Dental Medicine

The University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine is the first in the nation to establish opioid-free pain management guidelines for the vast majority of procedures performed in all of its clinics.

14 Nov 2019

TACC announces role as key collaborator in NIH grant to study chronic pain and opioid dependence

Pain impacts nearly every individual at some point in their lives. With more than 25 million adults in the U.S. experiencing daily pain, the U.S. is facing a crisis due to the high prevalence of chronic pain and associated opioid use disorder and overdose deaths.

14 Nov 2019

Urban hotspots of opioid abuse among high-schoolers revealed

A new study from researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that in several cities and counties the proportion of high-schoolers who have ever used heroin or misused prescription opioids is much higher than the national average.

14 Nov 2019

Timely identification of prenatal exposure to opioids, gabapentin could mean more appropriate care

Timely identification of newborns exposed to both opioids and gabapentin during pregnancy could mean more appropriate care for newborns experiencing withdrawal, according to researchers at Marshall University, in collaboration with Marshall Health, Cabell Huntington Hospital and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

13 Nov 2019

Opioid overdose treatment: intranasal vs intramuscular naloxone

Opioid addiction and dependency have become a common plague in many countries of the world. Accompanying these conditions, opioid overdose is being increasingly encountered in many emergency settings. The standard and highly effective antidote for this is naloxone hydrochloride, an opioid antagonist which has been in use for over 4 decades.

13 Nov 2019

$Receiving multiple fracture-associated drugs may increase hip fracture risk$

Receiving multiple fracture-associated drugs may increase hip fracture risk

There is a strong association between the number of fracture-associated drugs (FADs) older patients receive and their risk of sustaining a broken bone, according to a new Dartmouth study published in JAMA Network Open.

13 Nov 2019

Kratom may be effective, but not entirely safe to treat alcohol use disorder

Lawmakers across the United States continue to debate the safety of kratom, an opioid-containing plant that has been listed as a "drug of concern" by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Kratom is sold over the counter in specialty stores and online.

13 Nov 2019

Groundwork laid for new kind of neural interface system

By electrically stimulating nerves, neuromodulation therapies can reduce epileptic seizures, soothe chronic pain, and treat depression and a host of other health conditions without the use of conventional drugs like opioids.

11 Nov 2019

How Germany averted an opioid crisis

In 2016, 10 times as many Americans as Germans died as a result of drug overdoses, mostly opiates. Three times as many Americans as Germans experienced opioid addiction.

11 Nov 2019

Monash researchers create nanoparticle for improving properties of painkillers

Researchers at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology have created a nanoparticle that could improve the properties of painkillers by delivering them directly to the source of pain.

11 Nov 2019

Opioids do not improve quality of life or depression in OA patients

New research presented at the 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting suggests that opioids contribute no measurable benefit to quality of life or depression for patients with osteoarthritis (OA).

11 Nov 2019

Understanding substantial challenges caused by substance use, misuse and dependence

This week sees publication of the first research papers that will form part of PLOS Medicine’s latest Special Issue, which is devoted to understanding the substantial challenges caused by substance use and misuse and seeking to inform responses in the health sector and beyond.

8 Nov 2019