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Study: Laws that punish substance use during pregnancy do more harm than good

A new study co-authored by a University of Central Florida researcher shows that laws that punish substance use during pregnancy actually do more harm than good.

6 May 2020

Almost one-third of primary care physicians view medications as ineffective for treating opioid use disorder

A new survey of U.S. primary care physicians from researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that nearly one-third, 32.9 percent, do not think treating opioid use disorder with medication is any more effective than treatment without medication.

30 Apr 2020

Study: Multidimensional approach works best for tackling nonmedical drug use

Health practitioners are constantly developing new ways to help those with drug and alcohol addictions wean themselves from their substance of choice.

25 Apr 2020

Vaping, opioid addiction accelerate coronavirus risks, says NIDA director

In 2018, opioid overdoses claimed about 47,000 American lives. Last year, federal authorities reported that 5.4 million middle and high school students vaped. And just two months ago, about 2,800 cases of vaping-associated lung injuries resulted in hospitalizations; 68 people died.

24 Apr 2020

Coronavirus crisis opens access to online opioid addiction treatment

Opioid addiction isn't taking a break during the coronavirus pandemic.

23 Apr 2020

Study: Workplace strategies can promote employment for drug addicts

After a yearlong study of people with opioid dependence, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers report evidence that adding $8 an hour to their paychecks may help those in recovery stay drug free longer, as well as encourage them to get and hold regular jobs.

20 Apr 2020

California’s new attack on opioid addiction hits old roadblocks

Jennifer Stilwell, a 30-year-old mother of two young children, kicked heroin cold turkey five years ago, but she got hooked again last fall.

1 Apr 2020

Addiction is ‘a disease of isolation’ — so pandemic puts recovery at risk

Before the coronavirus became a pandemic, Emma went to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting every week in the Boston area and to another support group at her methadone clinic. She said she felt safe, secure and never judged.

30 Mar 2020

Medications meant for opioid use disorder improve outcomes after endocarditis hospitalization

Boston-Starting medication to treat opioid use disorder within 30 days of being discharged from the hospital due to injection drug use-related endocarditis - a type of serious heart infection - improves health outcomes

28 Feb 2020

They fell in love helping drug users. But fear kept him from helping himself.

She was in medical school. He was just out of prison.

27 Feb 2020

Trusting injection drug users with IV antibiotics at home: It can work

Two mornings a week, Arthur Jackson clears space on half of his cream-colored sofa. He sets out a few rolls of tape and some gauze, then waits for a knock on his front door.

26 Feb 2020

Medication treatments for OUD led to 80% lower risk of death from opioid overdose

Patients with opioid use disorder receiving treatment with opioid agonists (medications such as methadone or buprenorphine) had an 80 percent lower risk of dying from an opioid overdose compared to patients in treatment without the use of medications.

25 Feb 2020

Survival chances increase with further treatment for opioid use disorder after detox

A new study shows that people with opioid use disorder who enter inpatient medically managed withdrawal treatment (detox) do not usually receive further treatment, including medication for opioid use disorder or additional inpatient treatment.

25 Feb 2020

Study finds higher risk of poisoning at the beginning and after end of methadone treatment

A new study, led by RCSI researchers, has found that patients receiving methadone treatment are most at risk of overdosing in the month following the end of methadone treatment and during the first four weeks of treatment.

20 Feb 2020

Heroin use increasing among American adults

Earlier studies have shown a startling sevenfold increase in illnesses and deaths directly traceable to heroin use in the USA over less than 20 years. Along with this epidemic, HIV and hepatitis infections acquired by injections of drugs have also broken out in large clusters in many places. Yet, the extent of heroin use itself has been neglected. The current study looked at this overlooked area of research.

11 Feb 2020

Study finds multiple gaps in rural opioid crisis research

Rural areas have been hit hard by the opioid crisis, but few studies have been done to understand how to improve access to treatment and reduce the overdose death rate in these communities, according to a new study by Rutgers University, the University of Michigan, and Wayne State University.

6 Feb 2020

US life expectancy increases for the first time in 4 years

New data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that life expectancy in the United States increased in 2018.

30 Jan 2020

Opioid dependence produces permanent changes in the brains of rats

Approximately one-quarter of patients who are prescribed opioids for chronic pain misuse them, with five to 10 percent developing an opioid use disorder or addiction.

24 Jan 2020

Most youths do not get timely addiction treatment after opioid overdose

A study of more than 4 million Medicaid claims records during a recent seven-year period concludes that less than a third of the nearly 3,800 U.S. adolescents and young adults who experienced a nonfatal opioid overdose got timely (within 30 days) follow-up addiction treatment to curb or prevent future misuse and reduce the risk of a second overdose.

17 Jan 2020

Medicaid expansion linked to reduction in opioid overdose mortality across the U.S.

The expansion of Medicaid coverage for low-income adults permitted by the Affordable Care Act was associated with a six percent reduction in total opioid overdose deaths nationally, according to new research from NYU Grossman School of Medicine and University of California, Davis.

11 Jan 2020