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Reducing opioid medication during pregnancy may not ease neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome

Pregnant patients receiving medication to treat opioid use disorder should not reduce their medication dose out of fear that it will worsen withdrawal symptoms in their newborns, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM).

30 Oct 2026

Mindfulness-based behavioral therapy changes brain responses to reduce opioid cravings

Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE), a behavioral therapy used alongside medication treatment, may help people with opioid use disorder respond differently to drug-related cues and natural rewards, according to a randomized clinical trial led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

28 Oct 2026

Opioid use disorder diagnoses spike among commercially insured Americans

Commercially insured patients with diagnoses of opioid use disorder increased 32.7 percent nationally from 2022 to 2025, according to FAIR Health's Opioid Tracker.

14 Oct 2026

Many youth with opioid use disorder miss out on treatment

One in 100 adolescents and young adults in the United States has an opioid use disorder (OUD) and, with the rise of fentanyl in the drug supply, overdoses in this age group have risen sharply since 2019.

5 Oct 2026

Veterinary sedative in fentanyl supply spikes severe withdrawal cases

A powerful veterinary sedative, medetomidine, is increasingly infiltrating the street supplies of the already deadly opioid fentanyl, with patients suffering from its withdrawal quadrupling in recent years, according to a new analysis by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

29 Sep 2026

Study highlights gaps in opioid use disorder care during pregnancy

Opioid use disorder during pregnancy remains a critical yet under-addressed public health issue in the U.S., according to a new study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

23 Apr 2026

US Medicaid data finds buprenorphine safe for long-term child development

Children born to mothers who used buprenorphine for opioid addiction during pregnancy do not have a greater risk of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as ADHD and autism, compared with children whose mothers took methadone, finds a large US study published by The BMJ today.

17 Apr 2026

Many US jails lack nearby access to opioid treatment programs, study shows

A new study led by researchers at Brown University School of Public Health found that more than half of U.S. jails are located at least a 30-minute drive from the nearest opioid treatment program - a distance that may make it harder for incarcerated people to receive methadone, a key medication for opioid addiction.

2 Apr 2026

Maker of device to treat addiction withdrawal seeks counties’ opioid settlement cash

In the early 2000s, Michelle Warfield worked at a factory, hauling heavy seats for Ford trucks on and off an assembly line. To suppress daily aches in her back and hips, her doctor prescribed opioid painkillers.

18 Mar 2026

Largest review finds no mental health benefits of medicinal cannabis

A landmark Lancet Psychiatry paper published today – the largest-ever review of the safety and efficacy of cannabinoids across a range of mental health conditions – found no evidence that medicinal cannabis is effective in treating anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

16 Mar 2026

More surgical patients on opioid use disorder treatment demand updated pain care

As more Americans receive treatment for opioid use disorder, that progress is increasingly showing up in the operating room, creating an urgent need to modernize how pain is managed during and after major surgery, according to a study in the February 2026 issue of Anesthesiology, the peer-reviewed medical journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA).

13 Jan 2026

Study: Extended MOUD treatment significantly increases survival probability

A new study of over 32,000 US Veterans has found that the longer people stay on medications for opioid use disorder (buprenorphine, methadone, or extended-release naltrexone), the greater the probability of short- and medium-term survival. This benefit continues to increase at least for four years of ongoing treatment, considerably longer than most patients currently stay in treatment.

8 Jan 2026

Inside the battle for the future of addiction medicine

Elyse Stevens had a reputation for taking on complex medical cases. People who'd been battling addiction for decades. Chronic-pain patients on high doses of opioids. Sex workers and people living on the street.

7 Jan 2026

Most Medicaid patients do not receive life-saving drugs for opioid use disorder

A US study of more than a million Medicaid enrollees, newly diagnosed with opioid use disorder (OUD), finds most – nearly seven in 10 – are not receiving access to potentially life-saving drugs within six months.

24 Nov 2025

Take-home methadone provides a lifesaving bridge to recovery after hospitalization

For patients recovering from opioid use disorder, particularly from drugs like fentanyl or heroin, the days immediately following a hospital stay are among the most dangerous.

22 Nov 2025

States make progress in removing barriers to opioid use disorder medications

A new study from Tulane University found that, over the past decade, more states have moved to make it easier for people with opioid use disorder to get potentially life-saving medication.

3 Nov 2025

Study highlights need to establish clinical practice guidelines for surgical patients receiving MOUDs

In an effort to stem the death toll from opioid overdose, United States public health officials have promoted the prescription and use of medications like buprenorphine that blunt the effects of illicit opioids such as fentanyl.

27 Oct 2025

Nursing researchers explore new ways to improve the quality of methadone treatment

Researchers at the University of Arizona College of Nursing are testing an intervention to reduce staff stress and improve methadone patient treatment retention for opioid use disorder thanks to a $4.5 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a division of the National Institutes of Health.

18 Sep 2025

Buprenorphine treatment produces greatest health gains and cost savings for mothers and infants

Over the last 20 years, substance use-related deaths have more than doubled for women of reproductive age. Overdose deaths are now a leading cause of maternal mortality in the U.S., and in some states, the leading cause.

11 Sep 2025

Treating opioid use disorder during incarceration improves post-release outcomes

A study supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) finds that individuals who received medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) while incarcerated were significantly more likely to continue treatment six months after release than those who did not receive MOUD.