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.

Black, Hispanic women experience disparities in pain management in postpartum setting

Non-Hispanic black and Hispanic women were significantly more likely to report pain scores ranging from five to 10 when compared to non-Hispanic white women during the postpartum period.

6 Nov 2019

E-learning educates medical students on safely prescribing opioids for chronic pain

Even in the era of the opioid epidemic and abuse, medical residents report feeling inadequately prepared to prescribe opioids responsibly to patients who medically need them. However, a safe opioid prescribing e-learning program effectively educates graduate students on safely prescribing opioids for chronic pain and is effective regardless of year in training, according to research from the University of California, Irvine.

6 Nov 2019

VA evaluates the effect of opioids, sedatives on veterans

Veterans who simultaneously take opioids for chronic pain and benzodiazepines for anxiety and insomnia are at an increased risk of unintentional overdose and death as well as suicide.

6 Nov 2019

Pioneering brain chip to fight opioid addiction: first US clinical test

Opioid addiction is among the biggest medical conditions troubling the U.S. today, and is far from reaching a solution. In 2017, it claimed almost 50 deaths per 100,000 in the state of West Virginia – the highest drug-overdose-related death rate in the US. Today, however, there is a gleam of hope from a new trial of an old technology to help fight this battle – a brain-embedded chip to counter opioid-induced cravings in treatment-refractory patients.

6 Nov 2019

Study highlights role of mind-body therapies in addressing opioid-treated pain

A new study published Nov. 4, 2019, in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine details the first comprehensive look across the scientific literature at the role of mind-body therapies in addressing opioid-treated pain.

5 Nov 2019

Wake Forest Baptist receives $6 million to study non-pharmaceutical cancer pain management

For many people who've had cancer, severe pain can persist even after treatment ends.

5 Nov 2019

First-in-the-U.S. clinical trial uses deep brain stimulation to tackle opioid addiction

The West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute and WVU Medicine, today (Nov. 5) announced the launch of a first-in-the-U.S. clinical trial using deep brain stimulation for patients suffering from treatment-resistant opioid use disorder.

5 Nov 2019

Researchers successfully treat pain using nanoparticles to deliver a non-opioid medication

The use of nanoparticles to deliver a drug into specific nerve cells has resulted in significantly improved pain relief.

5 Nov 2019

Nanoparticle drug delivery enhances and prolongs pain relief in animal models

An international team of researchers has used nanoparticles to deliver a drug- one that previously failed in clinical trials for pain- into specific compartments of nerve cells, dramatically increasing its ability to treat pain in mice and rats.

4 Nov 2019

Study offers better understanding of smoking among urban emergency department patients

A new study from the Prevention Research Center of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation offers a more in-depth understanding of smoking among patients in an urban emergency department.

4 Nov 2019

Opioid misuse greatly increases chance of major depressive episode among teen girls

New research by Keith Chan of UAlbany's School of Social Welfare shows that among girls ages 12-17, the misuse of opioids greatly increases the chance of having a major depressive episode. Prescription opioids may include oxycodone, hydrocodone and fentanyl.

1 Nov 2019

Policy changes help reduce opioid prescriptions at Kellogg Eye Center cornea clinic

A new study in JAMA Ophthalmology details plans by University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center to help curb the nation's opioid epidemic – starting at their own clinic.

31 Oct 2019

Optometrists reduce opioid prescription without increasing pain

Optometrists at the University of Michigan have introduced a new approach to prescribing opioids in an effort to help curb the nation’s opioid epidemic.

31 Oct 2019

State-mandated policy reduces opioid prescribing without impacting patient satisfaction, pain control

A state-mandated policy restricting opioid prescriptions along with increased public awareness and education about the opioid epidemic preceded drastic reductions in opioid prescribing and use for surgical patients at the University of Vermont Medical Center without impacting patient satisfaction with their postoperative pain management, according to findings presented at the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress 2019.

30 Oct 2019

New online course launched to help providers understand every facet of opioid crisis

Even if they never write a single prescription for an opioid painkiller, or care for someone who has overdosed on heroin or fentanyl, people who work in every area of American healthcare need to understand how the opioid epidemic is affecting their patients, their families and their communities, and how to prevent new cases of opioid addiction.

30 Oct 2019

Study examines link between gift-giving and opioid prescribing by medical specialty

Physicians who received gifts from pharmaceutical companies related to opioid medications were more likely to prescribe opioids to their patients the following year, compared to physicians who did not receive such gifts, according to a new analysis led by health policy scientists at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.

30 Oct 2019

Behavioral, social, and biomedical strategies essential to end HIV epidemic in the US

To end the HIV epidemic in the United States, the use of behavioral and social science research - combined with biomedical strategies - is essential, according to a series of new papers in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (JAIDS).

30 Oct 2019

American culture is uniquely favorable toward prescribing opioids, suggests study

The longer immigrants live in the United States, the more likely they are to use prescription opioids--a fact that contradicts popular views linking wealth and health, and suggests that American culture is uniquely favorable toward prescribing opioids.

30 Oct 2019

Researchers are confronting opioid epidemic in multiple ways

With opioid drug overdose deaths skyrocketing in recent decades, researchers at Brown University's School of Public Health are confronting the epidemic in multiple ways.

30 Oct 2019

Researchers find 221% increase in opioid-related drug overdoses in Connecticut

Opioid overdose deaths in Connecticut doubled in the past six years, largely driven by use of multiple drugs together, according to a team of researchers from the University of Connecticut and Yale University.

29 Oct 2019

Opioids News and Research

Further Reading

Black, Hispanic women experience disparities in pain management in postpartum setting

E-learning educates medical students on safely prescribing opioids for chronic pain

VA evaluates the effect of opioids, sedatives on veterans

Pioneering brain chip to fight opioid addiction: first US clinical test

Study highlights role of mind-body therapies in addressing opioid-treated pain

Wake Forest Baptist receives $6 million to study non-pharmaceutical cancer pain management

First-in-the-U.S. clinical trial uses deep brain stimulation to tackle opioid addiction

Researchers successfully treat pain using nanoparticles to deliver a non-opioid medication

Nanoparticle drug delivery enhances and prolongs pain relief in animal models

Study offers better understanding of smoking among urban emergency department patients

Opioid misuse greatly increases chance of major depressive episode among teen girls

Policy changes help reduce opioid prescriptions at Kellogg Eye Center cornea clinic

Optometrists reduce opioid prescription without increasing pain

State-mandated policy reduces opioid prescribing without impacting patient satisfaction, pain control

New online course launched to help providers understand every facet of opioid crisis

Study examines link between gift-giving and opioid prescribing by medical specialty

Behavioral, social, and biomedical strategies essential to end HIV epidemic in the US

American culture is uniquely favorable toward prescribing opioids, suggests study

Researchers are confronting opioid epidemic in multiple ways

Researchers find 221% increase in opioid-related drug overdoses in Connecticut

Event guide: The Non-Opioid Pain Therapeutics Summit eBook

The Critical Role of Sample Storage in Drug Discovery and Development

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