Overdose News and Research

RSS

Lancet experts call for evidence-based approach to drug policy

Fifty years of drug policies aimed at restricting and criminalizing drug use and minor possession have had serious detrimental effects on the health, wellbeing and human rights of drug users and the wider public, according to a major new report by The Lancet and Johns Hopkins University in the US

25 Mar 2016

Microneedle-embedded patch delivers cancer immunotherapy directly to melanoma

Biomedical engineering researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have developed a technique that uses a patch embedded with microneedles to deliver cancer immunotherapy treatment directly to the site of melanoma skin cancer. In animal studies, the technique more effectively targeted melanoma than other immunotherapy treatments.

25 Mar 2016

FDA issues draft guidance to support development of approved ADF opioids

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued a draft guidance intended to support industry in their development of generic versions of approved opioids with abuse-deterrent formulations (ADF) while ensuring that generic ADF opioids are no less abuse-deterrent than the brand-name drug.

25 Mar 2016

FDA announces required class-wide safety labeling changes for IR opioid pain medications

In a continuing effort to educate prescribers and patients about the potential risks related to opioid use, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced required class-wide safety labeling changes for immediate-release (IR) opioid pain medications. Among the changes, the FDA is requiring a new boxed warning about the serious risks of misuse, abuse, addiction, overdose and death.

23 Mar 2016

Changes in substance use policies can significantly impact life expectancy

While average life expectancy has been rising steadily in most countries over the past century, new research led by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health shows that life expectancy declined significantly and rapidly in three countries where policy changes increased access to prescription opioids, alcohol or illicit drugs.

23 Mar 2016

New reference guide can help HIV care providers treat chronic pain

Recent studies suggest many individuals with HIV have chronic pain. Estimates range from 39 percent all the way to 85 percent. Chronic pain is an important comorbid condition in individuals with HIV, as it is common and causes substantial disability.

22 Mar 2016

Paracetamol does not meet minimum standard of clinical effectiveness in osteoarthritis patients

In a large-scale analysis of pain-relief medication for osteoarthritis, researchers found that paracetamol does not meet the minimum standard of clinical effectiveness in reducing pain or improving physical function in patients with knee and hip osteoarthritis.

18 Mar 2016

Understanding dangers of binge drinking

Researchers estimate that each year 1,825 college students ages 18-24 die from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle collisions. About 20 percent of college students meet the criteria for an alcohol use disorder, with one in four college students report adverse academic consequences from drinking, including missing class, falling behind, doing poorly on exams or papers, and receiving lower grades overall.

14 Mar 2016

Overprescribing of opioids leads to serious public health problems

Overprescribing of opioids and opioid addiction are serious and growing public health problems in the U.S., and are the focus of a new report by an expert panel, entitled The American Opioid Epidemic: Population Health Implications and Potential Solutions," from the National Stakeholder Panel, Jefferson College of Population Health, which is published in a special supplement to Population Health Management, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The supplement is available open access on the Population Health Managementwebsite

10 Mar 2016

Small, sensitive biosensors could help personalize treatment for Alzheimer's disease

A portable biosensor that could show how disease is progressing in patients with Alzheimer's could greatly improve people's quality of life in the future, according to a new review published in Biosensors and Bioelectronics.

10 Mar 2016

New vaccine strategy may curb addiction, prevent fatal overdoses

With use of synthetic opioid "designer drugs" on the rise, scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have a new strategy to curb addiction and even prevent fatal overdoses.

17 Feb 2016

Researchers develop new painkiller as strong as morphine but not addictive

Researchers at Tulane University and Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System have developed a painkiller that is as strong as morphine but isn't likely to be addictive and with fewer side effects, according to a new study in the journal Neuropharmacology.

29 Jan 2016

Educational programs, new clinic policies could significantly reduce level of opioid medication

A recent study showed that medical provider training, new clinic policies and efforts to "taper" opioid use for pain treatment could significantly reduce the level of opioid medication that patients used -- a limited but positive step for a nation enmeshed in opioid use, abuse and overdose deaths.

27 Jan 2016

Temple University Hospital makes strides in confronting prescription drug abuse

Prescription drug abuse has become a public health crisis in the U.S., and Temple University Hospital has made strides in confronting this critical situation.

21 Jan 2016

First patient enrolled in Phase 3 efficacy trial of CAM2038 for opioid dependence

Braeburn Pharmaceuticals and Camurus announce that the first patient has been randomized in the double blind Phase 3 efficacy trial of CAM2038 in opioid-dependent patients. CAM2038 medications are designed for long-acting weekly and monthly administration.

31 Dec 2015

Most patients with chronic pain continue to receive prescription opioids after nonfatal overdose

A study led by Boston Medical Center indicates that most patients with chronic pain who are hospitalized after a nonfatal opioid overdose continue to receive prescription opioids after the overdose and are at high risk for experiencing a repeated overdose.

30 Dec 2015

Opioid prescribing guideline has immediate, sustained impact on prescribing rates

Emergency medicine physicians at Temple University Hospital have found that an opioid prescribing guideline had an immediate and sustained impact on opioid prescribing rates for minor conditions and chronic noncancer pain in an acute care setting.

30 Dec 2015

More than 90% of patients continue to receive prescription opioids after overdose

More than 90 percent of patients with chronic pain continue to receive prescription opioids after an overdose and are at high risk for experiencing a repeated overdose, according to an article published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

29 Dec 2015

Crackdown on Florida's 'pill mills' reduces painkiller overdose deaths

A crackdown on Florida's "pill mills" - clinics dispensing large quantities of prescription painkillers often for cash-only and without proper medical examinations - appears to have dramatically reduced the number of overdose deaths in the state from these drugs and may have also led to a drop in heroin overdose deaths, new research suggests.

22 Dec 2015

New data shows opioid overdose deaths hit record levels in 2014

From 2000 to 2014 nearly half a million Americans died from drug overdoses. Opioid overdose deaths, including both opioid pain relievers and heroin, hit record levels in 2014, with an alarming 14 percent increase in just one year, according to new data published today in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

20 Dec 2015

Overdose News and Research

Lancet experts call for evidence-based approach to drug policy

Microneedle-embedded patch delivers cancer immunotherapy directly to melanoma

FDA issues draft guidance to support development of approved ADF opioids

FDA announces required class-wide safety labeling changes for IR opioid pain medications

Changes in substance use policies can significantly impact life expectancy

New reference guide can help HIV care providers treat chronic pain

Paracetamol does not meet minimum standard of clinical effectiveness in osteoarthritis patients

Understanding dangers of binge drinking

Overprescribing of opioids leads to serious public health problems

Small, sensitive biosensors could help personalize treatment for Alzheimer's disease

New vaccine strategy may curb addiction, prevent fatal overdoses

Researchers develop new painkiller as strong as morphine but not addictive

Educational programs, new clinic policies could significantly reduce level of opioid medication

Temple University Hospital makes strides in confronting prescription drug abuse

First patient enrolled in Phase 3 efficacy trial of CAM2038 for opioid dependence

Most patients with chronic pain continue to receive prescription opioids after nonfatal overdose

Opioid prescribing guideline has immediate, sustained impact on prescribing rates

More than 90% of patients continue to receive prescription opioids after overdose

Crackdown on Florida's 'pill mills' reduces painkiller overdose deaths

New data shows opioid overdose deaths hit record levels in 2014

Industry Focus eBook - Neurology/Neuroscience - 2nd edition eBook

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

Latest News