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Nonmedical use of prescription opioids drops but overdose death rates rise in U.S.

From 2003 to 2013, the percentage of nonmedical use of prescription opioids decreased among adults in the U.S., while the prevalence of prescription opioid use disorders, frequency of use, and related deaths increased, according to a study in the October 13 issue of JAMA.

15 Oct 2015

Research: Many Americans use prescription pain relievers, most people see abuse as serious health issue

More than one in four Americans has taken prescription painkillers in the past year, even as a majority say that abuse of these medications is a very serious public health concern, according to new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research.

8 Oct 2015

Acetaminophen Awareness Coalition issues safety message to consumers about flu medicines

With cold and flu season around the corner, consumers will soon begin to purchase medicines such as cough syrup, throat lozenges, and nasal sprays to help get relief from symptoms such as fever, coughs, congestion, and more. Many of the medicines used to treat these cold and flu symptoms can contain common drug ingredients such as acetaminophen.

6 Oct 2015

Benzodiazepines heighten risks for dementia and death

Patients taking benzodiazepines to treat psychiatric conditions should consider transitioning to other therapies because of heightened risks for dementia and death, according to clinicians from the American College of Osteopathic Neurologists and Psychiatrists.

6 Oct 2015

Integrating addiction treatment into primary care lowers substance dependence in patients with HIV

A program developed at Boston Medical Center, which integrates addiction treatment into primary care for patients with or at risk for HIV, has been shown to lower patients' substance dependence and encourage their engagement in treatment.

30 Sep 2015

New guideline on the use of prescription medications for treatment of opioid addiction

Medications play an important role in managing patients with opioid use disorders, but there are not enough physicians with the knowledge and ability to use these often-complex treatments.

25 Sep 2015

Liver failure patients may benefit from CSF-1 treatment that aids the immune system to combat infections

Patients with liver failure could benefit from a treatment that helps the immune system to combat infections linked to the condition, research suggests.

10 Sep 2015

Fentanyl sold as heroin causing new wave of overdose deaths

With the heroin epidemic in the United States reaching deadlier heights, Jacksonville-based Lakeview Health drug and alcohol treatment center's Dr. Philip Hemphill is helping to explain why fentanyl is causing a new wave of overdoses. Because Fentanyl is approximately 40 to 50 times more potent than pharmaceutical grade heroin and often illegally purchased unknowingly by recreational users as heroin, the risk of death skyrockets.

29 Aug 2015

Education can empower clinicians to safely prescribe opioids for chronic pain sufferers

Educating clinicians on how to safely prescribe opioids can help decrease opioid misuse among chronic pain sufferers.

27 Aug 2015

AMA Task Force to Reduce Opioid Abuse announces national recommendations to address opioid crisis

Opioid abuse is a serious public health problem that has reached crisis levels across the United States, with 44 people dying each day from overdose of opioids, and many more becoming addicted. Recognizing the urgency and serious impact of this issue on the health of hundreds of thousands of patients across the country, today the American Medical Association Task Force to Reduce Opioid Abuse announced the first of several national recommendations to address this growing epidemic.

25 Aug 2015

Researchers evaluate use of pharmacy-based naloxone education and distribution to fight opioid overdoses

In response to the growing opioid crisis, several states, including Massachusetts and Rhode Island, have granted pharmacists the authority to provide naloxone rescue kits without a prescription to at-risk patients. This model of pharmacy-based naloxone (PBN) education and distribution is one of the public health strategies currently being evaluated at hundreds of pharmacies in both states to determine the impact on opioid overdose death rates.

25 Aug 2015

Normal coagulation tests used to check for side effect of internal bleeding may not be reliable

A recently-published study found that while internal bleeding may be uncommon as a result of taking blood thinners such as Xarelto (rivaroxaban) and Eliquis (apixaban), the normal coagulation tests physicians use to check for the side effect of bleeding may not be reliable.

24 Aug 2015

Growing availability of heroin changing the face of opiate addiction in the U.S.

The growing availability of heroin, combined with programs aimed at curbing prescription painkiller abuse, may be changing the face of opiate addiction in the U.S., according to sociologists.

18 Aug 2015

BDSI announces FDA approval of sNDA for new formulation of ONSOLIS (fentanyl buccal soluble film) CII

BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. announced the approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of a Supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for a new formulation of ONSOLIS (fentanyl buccal soluble film) CII for the management of breakthrough pain in patients with cancer who are opioid tolerant.

13 Aug 2015

BMC partners with RIH, CVS to support pharmacy-based naloxone rescue kits to help combat opioid addiction, overdose

Boston Medical Center has received a $1.3 million grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to support a demonstration project of pharmacy-based naloxone rescue kits to help reduce opioid addiction and overdose death in two New England States: Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

7 Aug 2015

Nonmedical use of prescription opioids increasing among young adults

The nonmedical use of prescription opioids (POs) has become an area of increasing public health concern in the United States and rates of use are particularly high among young adults. In the past decade, an emerging "epidemic" of nonmedical PO use has been reported.

5 Aug 2015

Scientists produce functional liver cells from human embryonic and genetic engineered stem cells

The liver plays a critical role in human metabolism. As the gatekeeper of the digestive track, this massive organ is responsible for drug breakdown and is therefore the first to be injured due to overdose or misuse. Evaluating this drug-induced liver injury is a critical part of pharmaceutical drug discovery and must be carried out on human liver cells. Regretfully, human liver cells, called hepatocytes, are in scarce supply as they can only be isolated from donated organs.

31 Jul 2015

Nicotine products could be harmful to children

The Food and Drug Administration recently announced it intends to require warning labels and child-resistant packaging on liquid nicotine products such as those used in e-cigarettes.

24 Jul 2015

Opioid prescribing guidelines that focus high-dose use may need revision, say researchers

Overdoses of opioid pain medications frequently occur in people who aren't chronic users with high prescribed opioid doses--the groups targeted by current opioid prescribing guidelines, reports a study in the August issue of Medical Care.

16 Jul 2015

Internet-based program can help people manage their chronic pain, reduce reliance on opioids

Washington State University researchers have found that people can manage chronic pain and reduce their reliance on opioids through an Internet-based program that teaches non-medical alternatives like increased physical activity, thinking more positively and dealing with emotions.

8 Jul 2015