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.

Patients with mental disorders get half of all opioid prescriptions

Adults with a mental illness receive more than 50 percent of the 115 million opioid prescriptions in the United States annually, according to a study released Monday.

27 Jun 2017

Promises made to protect preexisting conditions prove hollow

Senate Republicans praised the Affordable Care Act replacement bill they presented Thursday as preserving coverage for people with cancer, mental illness and other chronic illness.

23 Jun 2017

Study finds substantial use of opioids among older rheumatoid arthritis patients

A new analysis indicates that the use of opioid pain medications in older US rheumatoid arthritis patients peaked in 2010 and is now declining slightly. By 2014, 41% of rheumatoid arthritis patients were regular opioid users.

21 Jun 2017

Deficits in attention and executive functioning linked to frequency of alcohol, drug use

Impairments in processing and using information that help with decision-making and planning simple tasks such as grocery shopping are linked with one's frequency of alcohol or drug use according to a new study.

21 Jun 2017

A ‘safe’ space to shoot up: Worth a try in California?

Tawny Biggs' seemingly happy childhood in the northern Los Angeles County suburb of Santa Clarita, Calif., showed no outward sign that she would one day struggle with drug addiction.

19 Jun 2017

Study highlights critical gap in addiction treatment for young people with OUD

Only one in four young adults and teens with opioid use disorder are receiving potentially life-saving medications for addiction treatment, according to a new Boston Medical Center study published online in JAMA Pediatrics.

19 Jun 2017

Study shows acupuncture as viable alternative to pain-relieving drugs in emergency departments

The world's largest randomized controlled trial of the use of acupuncture in emergency departments has found the treatment is a safe and effective alternative to pain-relieving drugs for some patients.

19 Jun 2017

Fatal overdose risk increases with daily opioid use among Medicaid patients, study finds

Among Medicaid patients taking opioids for chronic pain, the risk of fatal overdose rises steadily with daily opioid dose, reports a study in the July issue of Medical Care. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

16 Jun 2017

Female chronic pain sufferers who catastrophize more likely to take prescribed opioids

Female chronic pain sufferers who catastrophize, a psychological condition in which pain is exaggerated or irrationally focused on, not only report greater pain intensity, but are more likely to be taking prescribed opioids than men with the same condition, according to a study published Online First in Anesthesiology, the peer-reviewed medical journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

15 Jun 2017

People in recovery worry GOP Medicaid cuts would put treatment out of reach

Republicans in both the House and the Senate are considering big cuts to Medicaid. But those cuts endanger addiction treatment, which many people receive through the government health insurance program.

14 Jun 2017

Impairment of specific gene increases susceptibility to opioid addiction and binge eating, study shows

Impairment of a particular gene raises increases susceptibility to opioid addiction liability as well as vulnerability to binge eating according to a new study.

13 Jun 2017

Opioid abuse and dependence diagnoses found among all age group in urban, rural settings

In rural areas around the country, in the period 2007 to 2016, private insurance claim lines with opioid abuse and dependence diagnoses were found in every age group from 13- 18 years to over 80 years, and in urban areas, in every age group from 13-18 years to 71-80 years.

13 Jun 2017

Single bout of exercise can have significant positive behavioral and cognitive effects

In a new review of the effects of acute exercise published in Brain Plasticity, researchers not only summarize the behavioral and cognitive effects of a single bout of exercise, but also summarize data from a large number of neurophysiological and neurochemical studies in both humans and animals showing the wide range of brain changes that result from a single session of physical exercise.

12 Jun 2017

Medical responses to opioid addiction vary by state, analysis finds

Location, location, location. That mantra may apply even when it comes to how opioid addiction is treated.

12 Jun 2017

New review examines link between pain and opioid abuse

The drug overdose epidemic is largely driven by opioids, which continue to be prescribed for chronic pain despite recommendations to use non-opioids for most cases.

12 Jun 2017

Fake contaminant opioids found in prescription pills leading to fatal overdoses in Georgia

There has been a spate of several overdoses in Georgia this week leading to four deaths according to the officials at Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The Bureau issued a statement saying that there is presence of two synthetic opioids in the fake prescription pills that led to these cases of overdose.

9 Jun 2017

Opana ER – a long acting opioid painkiller, to be pulled from the markets as per FDA directive

The US Food and Drug Administration this Thursday (8th June 2017) directed pharmaceutical company Endo Pharmaceuticals to remove one of its powerful opioid painkillers Opana ER, that provides a long term relief of pain but also poses a risk of drug abuse.

9 Jun 2017

Cesarean patients prescribed more opioid pain medications than needed, study shows

Most women who undergo a cesarean childbirth are prescribed more opioid (narcotic) pain medications than needed upon release from the hospital, a Vanderbilt University Medical Center study shows.

9 Jun 2017

Heroin use in the U.S. estimated to cost society more than $51 billion

Heroin use in the United States was estimated to cost society more than $51 billion in 2015, according to new research at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

9 Jun 2017

Cannabis use during adolescence linked to greater risk of illegal substance abuse in early adulthood

According to the study published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, regular and occasional use of cannabis as an adolescent is linked with a greater risk of other illicit drug consumption in early adulthood. The study by Bristol's Population Health Science Institute also found that cannabis use was connected with harmful drinking and smoking. One in five adolescents are at a risk of tobacco dependency, harmful alcohol consumption, and illicit drug use.

8 Jun 2017

Opioids News and Research

Further Reading

Patients with mental disorders get half of all opioid prescriptions

Promises made to protect preexisting conditions prove hollow

Study finds substantial use of opioids among older rheumatoid arthritis patients

Deficits in attention and executive functioning linked to frequency of alcohol, drug use

A ‘safe’ space to shoot up: Worth a try in California?

Study highlights critical gap in addiction treatment for young people with OUD

Study shows acupuncture as viable alternative to pain-relieving drugs in emergency departments

Fatal overdose risk increases with daily opioid use among Medicaid patients, study finds

Female chronic pain sufferers who catastrophize more likely to take prescribed opioids

People in recovery worry GOP Medicaid cuts would put treatment out of reach

Impairment of specific gene increases susceptibility to opioid addiction and binge eating, study shows

Opioid abuse and dependence diagnoses found among all age group in urban, rural settings

Single bout of exercise can have significant positive behavioral and cognitive effects

Medical responses to opioid addiction vary by state, analysis finds

New review examines link between pain and opioid abuse

Fake contaminant opioids found in prescription pills leading to fatal overdoses in Georgia

Opana ER – a long acting opioid painkiller, to be pulled from the markets as per FDA directive

Cesarean patients prescribed more opioid pain medications than needed, study shows

Heroin use in the U.S. estimated to cost society more than $51 billion

Cannabis use during adolescence linked to greater risk of illegal substance abuse in early adulthood

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