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.

PDFNJ campaign emphasizes the hazards of prescription opioids

A powerful new message in Times Square from the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey emphasizes the dangers of prescription opioids.

8 Jul 2019

Role of hospital and health-system pharmacists in drug therapy monitoring

As hospitals look for ways to stem the opioid crisis, a survey of health-system pharmacy directors released today found that most large health systems have active stewardship programs to prevent the misuse of opioids -- with pharmacists playing a key role in detecting drug diversion and identifying strategies to encourage appropriate opioid prescribing.

4 Jul 2019

UAMS receives $24.2 million federal funding to accelerate research

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Translational Research Institute announced today it will receive five years of federal funding totaling $24.2 million to accelerate research that addresses Arkansas' biggest health challenges.

3 Jul 2019

IU-connected startup working to enable precision medicine for mental health issues, chronic pain

A new startup company founded on science developed at Indiana University is working to enable precision medicine by commercializing the first objective tests for mental health issues, including suicide risk, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, and for pain, all of which historically have been difficult to measure for patients and health care providers alike.

2 Jul 2019

Florida is the latest Republican-led state to adopt clean needle exchanges

A green van was parked on the edge of downtown Miami, on a corner shadowed by overpasses. The vehicle serves as a mobile health clinic and syringe exchange, where people who inject drugs like heroin and fentanyl could swap dirty needles for fresh ones.

2 Jul 2019

Study shows how cannabis could be effective for both pain relief and insomnia

A new study has shown how cannabis could be an effective treatment option for both pain relief and insomnia, for those looking to avoid prescription and over the counter pain and sleep medications -including opioids.

2 Jul 2019

Concurrent use of benzodiazepine and opioids complicates neonatal abstinence syndrome

Babies born after being exposed to both opioids and benzodiazepines before birth are more likely to have severe drug withdrawal, requiring medications like morphine for treatment, compared to infants exposed to opioids alone, according to a Vanderbilt University Medical Center study published in Hospital Pediatrics.

1 Jul 2019

Birth, child outcomes linked with maternal opioid use during pregnancy

In utero exposure to opioids was associated with higher risks for short- and long-term adverse outcomes including preterm birth and neurodevelopmental and physical health disorders in children.

29 Jun 2019

Study: Dozens of counties in the U.S. are at highest risk for opioid deaths

Dozens of counties in the Midwest and South are at the highest risk for opioid deaths in the United States, say University of Michigan researchers.

29 Jun 2019

Opioids are major cause of pregnancy-related deaths in Utah

Stephanie lay in the Salt Lake County jail bunk bed and thought, "Everything would be better if I just died."

28 Jun 2019

More seniors are dying in falls. Doctors could do more to reduce the risk.

Older adults worried about falling typically receive general advice: Take an exercise class. Get your vision checked. Stop taking medications for sleep. Install grab bars in the bathroom.

27 Jun 2019

Researchers survey orthopedic providers to understand factors that drive opioid prescribing practices

Orthopedic surgeons are the third-highest physician prescribers of opioids, writing more than 6 million prescriptions a year.

From Johns Hopkins Medicine 27 Jun 2019

Interaction between antidepressants and opioid pain medication contributes to lesser pain relief

Common antidepressants interact with the opioid pain medication tramadol to make it less effective for pain relief, according to a study from University Hospitals.

26 Jun 2019

Veterans with PTSD twice as likely to die from suicide, accidental injury, and viral hepatitis

According to a new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, published by Elsevier, United States Veterans seeking treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder are at increased risk of death compared with the general population.

24 Jun 2019

Meth in the morning, heroin at night: Inside the seesaw struggle of dual addiction

In the 25 years since she snorted her first line of meth at a club in San Francisco, Kim has redefined "normal" so many times. At first, she said, it seemed like meth brought her back to her true self — the person she was before her parents divorced, and before her stepfather moved in.

24 Jun 2019

Surgeons’ opioid-prescribing habits hard to kick

As opioid addiction and deadly overdoses escalated into an epidemic across the U.S., thousands of surgeons continued to hand out far more pills than needed for postoperative pain relief, according to a KHN-Johns Hopkins analysis of Medicare data.

21 Jun 2019

Research sheds light on ‘black box’ of inpatient opioid use

People who receive opioids for the first time while hospitalized have double the risk of continuing to receive opioids for months after discharge compared with their hospitalized peers who are not given opioids, according to research led by scientists at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.

18 Jun 2019

Opioids News and Research

Further Reading

PDFNJ campaign emphasizes the hazards of prescription opioids

Role of hospital and health-system pharmacists in drug therapy monitoring

UAMS receives $24.2 million federal funding to accelerate research

IU-connected startup working to enable precision medicine for mental health issues, chronic pain

Florida is the latest Republican-led state to adopt clean needle exchanges

Study shows how cannabis could be effective for both pain relief and insomnia

Concurrent use of benzodiazepine and opioids complicates neonatal abstinence syndrome

Birth, child outcomes linked with maternal opioid use during pregnancy

Study: Dozens of counties in the U.S. are at highest risk for opioid deaths

Opioids are major cause of pregnancy-related deaths in Utah

More seniors are dying in falls. Doctors could do more to reduce the risk.

Researchers survey orthopedic providers to understand factors that drive opioid prescribing practices

Interaction between antidepressants and opioid pain medication contributes to lesser pain relief

Veterans with PTSD twice as likely to die from suicide, accidental injury, and viral hepatitis

Meth in the morning, heroin at night: Inside the seesaw struggle of dual addiction

Surgeons’ opioid-prescribing habits hard to kick

Research sheds light on ‘black box’ of inpatient opioid use

Cedars-Sinai expert urges physicians and patients to manage pain without addictive pills

Study finds increase in fatal opioid overdoses after cold weather

Federal grants ‘a lifesaver’ in opioid fight, but states still struggle to curb meth

Event guide: The Non-Opioid Pain Therapeutics Summit eBook

The Critical Role of Sample Storage in Drug Discovery and Development

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

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