Oxycodone News and Research

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Understanding opioid risks can help prevent accidental overdoses

According to numbers calculated from the CDC, approximately 80,000 people died last year from a drug overdose, which represents about 21 deaths per 100,000 residents in the U.S. alone. Overdose deaths are preventable, and in most of the cases we see, they are completely accidental.

24 Aug 2026

Researchers identify opioids with highest risk of respiratory depression

University of Manchester researchers have identified which opioids are most likely to be associated with respiratory depression, in a major new study.

9 Jul 2026

Naloxone provides life-saving tool to reverse opioid overdoses

Anyone can save a life during an opioid overdose with naloxone, a front-line defense in the nation's overdose crisis.

16 Jun 2026

Experimental vaccine protects against fentanyl and related opioids

Fentanyl and related variants of the synthetic opioid kill more Americans each year than car accidents and gun violence combined. In too-high doses, the drugs hijack brain chemistry and shut down the signals that control breathing.

11 Jun 2026

GLP-1 drugs may help curb addiction by targeting reward pathways

GLP-1 receptor agonists, already used for Type 2 diabetes and obesity, show promise in reducing alcohol and drug-seeking behaviors through central reward and dopamine-related pathways. Most evidence remains preclinical, with limited early human data, so larger clinical trials are needed before these drugs can be recommended for addiction treatment.

21 May 2026

Opioids offer limited short-term relief for acute pain

The world's largest review of opioid pain relievers prescribed for acute pain found these medicines provide only small, short-term relief for some acute conditions and are ineffective for some others.

25 Feb 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

Research shows a decline in opioid dispensing across Canadian provinces

Efforts to promote safer opioid prescribing in Canada appear to be having an effect, as new research in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.250670 shows a decrease in opioid dispensing between 2018 and 2022.

27 Oct 2025

From street to lab: Advancing controlled substance testing with handheld Raman and FTIR

Discover how Thermo Fisher’s handheld Raman and lab FTIR tools are transforming controlled substance testing with safer, faster, and more reliable results.

From Thermo Fisher Scientific – Pharmaceutical and Biopharmaceutical Solutions 14 Oct 2025

GLP-1 therapeutics may have the potential to treat alcohol and drug addiction

A popular class of therapies for treating diabetes and obesity may also have the potential to treat alcohol and drug addiction, according to a new paper published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.

9 Oct 2025

Polysubstance-involved opioid overdoses found to be prevalent among youth

Most research suggests that opioid overdoses involving multiple substances in the United States typically occur among people ages 25-54.

26 Aug 2025

Cosmetic surgeries led to disfiguring injuries, patients allege

A few days after a harrowing cosmetic surgery procedure, Erin Schaeffer said, she woke up with fluid leaking from an open wound in her stomach.

28 Jul 2025

Most Medicaid plans cover naloxone but barriers still exist

A new study found that almost all plans in 40 states and Washington, DC covered at least one form of the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone, although certain restrictions and quantity limits may still prevent people from accessing this life-saving drug.

27 Jun 2025

Study identifies populations at risk for high-dose opioid prescriptions

Researchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine have shed light on what populations are more likely to be prescribed a high dose of opioid medication. This increases their risk of developing opioid use disorder.

21 May 2025

Innovative technology instantly spots street drugs

A portable device that can instantly detect dangerous street drugs at extremely low concentrations has been developed at the University of Bath in the UK.

7 May 2025

Co-prescribing stimulants and opioids may fuel the twin epidemic of overdose

The combination of prescribed central nervous system stimulants, such as drugs that relieve ADHD symptoms, with prescribed opioid medications is associated with a pattern of escalating opioid intake, a new study has found.

22 Feb 2025

Can the carnivore diet trigger kidney stones? Case study raises red flags

A case study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition examines how one patient’s switch to a carnivore diet increased kidney stone risk by raising calcium, uric acid, and oxalate levels while reducing protective citrate.

19 Feb 2025

Structural and functional brain changes found in individuals with opioid use disorder

Researchers at the Yale School of Medicine found structural and functional alterations in specific brain regions of individuals with opioid use disorder.

10 Dec 2024

Boosting endocannabinoids could reduce opioid addiction risk

Increasing the levels of chemicals naturally produced in the body called endocannabinoids may thwart the highly addictive nature of opioids such as morphine and oxycodone while maintaining the drugs' ability to relieve pain, according to Weill Cornell Medicine investigators working with researchers from The Center for Youth Mental Health at NewYork-Presbyterian.

2 Dec 2024