Fentanyl News and Research

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Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opiate analgesic similar to but more potent than morphine. It is typically used to treat patients with severe pain, or to manage pain after surgery. It is also sometimes used to treat people with chronic pain who are physically tolerant to opiates. It is a schedule II prescription drug.

Marine fungus-derived aniquinazolin B could be a potential opioid alternative

Opioids have long been known as natural substances with substantial pharmacological effect. They have been used as effective painkillers.

17 Jul 2024

Lifesaving drugs and police projects mark first use of opioid settlement cash in California

Sonja Verdugo lost her husband to an opioid overdose last year. She regularly delivers medical supplies to people using drugs who are living — and dying — on the streets of Los Angeles. And she advocates at Los Angeles City Hall for policies to address addiction and homelessness.

12 Jul 2024

Novel compound amplifies naloxone's power to reverse overdoses

In a Stanford Medicine-led study, researchers combed through billions of compounds to find one that could enhance naloxone’s ability to fend off more potent opioids, with promising results in mice.

4 Jul 2024

Researchers identify potential drugs that make naloxone more potent and longer lasting

The ongoing opioid epidemic in the U.S. kills tens of thousands of people every year. Naloxone, sold under the brand name Narcan, has saved countless lives by reversing opioid overdoses.

3 Jul 2024

PVP-037: A novel imidazopyrimidine adjuvant enhancing vaccine immune responses

Many vaccines are only partially effective, have waning efficacy, or do not work well in the very young or the very old.

3 Jul 2024

Report reveals rising rates of fatal opioid overdoses in Ontario shelters

Researchers from the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network (ODPRN) at St. Michael's Hospital and Public Health Ontario analyzed health data from the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario and ICES, and found that there were 210 accidental opioid-related toxicity deaths within shelters between January 2018 to May 2022, with the number of deaths more than tripling during the study period (48 before the pandemic versus 162 during the pandemic).

18 Jun 2024

HEALing Communities Study: Data-driven intervention did not reduce opioid-related overdose death rates

A data-driven intervention that engaged communities to rapidly deploy evidence-based practices to reduce opioid-related overdose deaths – such as increasing naloxone distribution and enhancing access to medication for opioid use disorder – did not result in a statistically significant reduction in opioid-related overdose death rates during the evaluation period, according to results from the National Institutes of Health's HEALing (Helping to End Addiction Long-Term) Communities Study.

17 Jun 2024

The unregulated sale of Amanita muscaria mushrooms needs a public health response

The legal status, safety, and availability of Amanita muscaria.

12 Jun 2024

Biden plan to save Medicare patients money on drugs risks empty shelves, pharmacists say

Months into a new Biden administration policy intended to lower drug costs for Medicare patients, independent pharmacists say they're struggling to afford to keep some prescription drugs in stock.

11 Jun 2024

Survey: 82.7 million Americans impacted by overdose deaths

Losing a loved one to drug overdose has been a common experience for many Americans in recent years, crossing political and socioeconomic divides and boosting the perceived importance of the overdose crisis as a policy issue, according to a new survey led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

31 May 2024

California pays meth users to get sober

Here in the rugged foothills of California's Sierra Nevada, the streets aren't littered with needles and dealers aren't hustling drugs on the corner.

22 May 2024

Clean needles save lives. In some states, they might not be legal.

Kim Botteicher hardly thinks of herself as a criminal. On the main floor of a former Catholic church in Bolivar, Pennsylvania, Botteicher runs a flower shop and cafe.

17 May 2024

Research highlights complexity of xylazine and fentanyl combination in overdose cases

Unregulated use of fentanyl and overdose deaths have increased dramatically in recent years, and this trend was made more alarming when authorities found fentanyl laced with the animal tranquilizer xylazine.

16 May 2024

Study reveals sharp surge in illicit fentanyl seizures

The number of illicit fentanyl seizures by law enforcement in the United States grew by more than 1,700 percent between 2017 and 2023, according to a new analysis.

13 May 2024

San Francisco tries tough love by tying welfare to drug rehab

Raymond Llano carries a plastic bag with everything he owns in one hand, a cup of coffee in the other, and the flattened cardboard box he uses as a bed under his arm as he waits in line for lunch at Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco. At 55, he hasn't had a home for 15 years, since he lost a job at Target.

13 May 2024

Analysis reveals composition of counterfeit pills in Rhode Island's illicit drug supply

A new analysis revealed the frequency of potentially lethal substances, such as fentanyl and xylazine, in counterfeit pills that had been circulating in Rhode Island's illicit drug supply.

7 May 2024

Fentanyl inhalation linked to irreversible brain damage

Inhaling the synthetic opioid fentanyl may cause potentially irreversible brain damage (toxic leukoencephalopathy), warn doctors in the journal BMJ Case Reports, after treating a middle aged man found unresponsive in his hotel room after snorting the drug.

29 Apr 2024

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