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Study analyzes the effects of state-level policies on use of anti-opioid medication

States that want to increase access to buprenorphine, a lifesaving medication used to treat opioid use disorder, should consider efforts to enhance professional education and clinician knowledge, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

26 May 2023

$11.6 million NIDA grant supports the study of cannabis effects on HIV-infected brains

Weill Cornell Medicine has been awarded a five-year, $11.6 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health to study the effects cannabis, including marijuana and compounds derived from it, may have on the brains of those living with HIV.

23 May 2023

Researchers identify brain signatures for chronic pain in a small group of individuals

For the first time, researchers have recorded pain-related data from inside the brain of individuals with chronic pain disorders caused by stroke or amputation (phantom limb pain).

22 May 2023

New Jersey's Medicaid reforms spurred increases in buprenorphine prescriptions to combat opioid addiction

Reforms to New Jersey's Medicaid program successfully spurred ongoing increases in buprenorphine prescriptions for the treatment of opioid addiction, according to a Rutgers analysis.

19 May 2023

Biosensor Versatility; From Analytical Chemistry to Diagnostics

At Pittcon 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, we spoke to this year's recipient of the Ralph N. Adams Award in Analytical Chemistry, Professor Joseph Wang to discuss the versatility of biosensor technologies.

From Pittcon 18 May 2023

New NIH program seeks to discover and catalog the breadth of somatic mosaicism in human tissues

The National Institutes of Health is launching a new program, the Common Fund's Somatic Mosaicism Across Human Tissues Network, that aims to transform our knowledge of how much genetic variation there is in the cells and tissues throughout our bodies.

11 May 2023

Legal pot is more potent than ever — and still largely unregulated

Marijuana and other products containing THC, the plant's main psychoactive ingredient, have grown more potent and more dangerous as legalization has made them more widely available.

9 May 2023

New research to measure the impact of overdose prevention centers in the United States

NYU Langone Health and Brown University's School of Public Health today announced a grant award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health, to conduct research to measure the impact of some of the first publicly recognized overdose prevention centers (OPCs) in the United States, located in New York City and Providence, Rhode Island.

8 May 2023

Young men with cannabis use disorder have elevated risk of developing schizophrenia

Young men with cannabis (marijuana) use disorder have an increased risk of developing schizophrenia, according to a study led by researchers at the Mental Health Services in the Capital Region of Denmark and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health.

4 May 2023

Disparities in brain development of children can be mitigated through anti-poverty programs

States that provide stronger social safety nets have lower socioeconomic disparities in the brain development and mental health of children 9 to 11 years old, according to research supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health.

2 May 2023

Insomnia drug shows potential as an effective treatment for opioid use disorder

The insomnia drug suvorexant (Belsomra) might be an effective treatment for opioid use disorder, according to a preclinical study from Scripps Research.

27 Apr 2023

Understanding how biological sex and immune system contribute to shaping the developing brain

Researchers have established that biological sex plays a role in determining an individual's risk of brain disorders.

26 Apr 2023

Study assesses trends in buprenorphine initiation and retention in the United States

Treating opioid addiction should be much easier now than it was a few years ago, thanks to pandemic-era rule changes that aim to improve access to buprenorphine, a medicine proven to help in recovery.

25 Apr 2023

Childhood adversity may increase risk of developing type 2 diabetes in early adulthood

A new study published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes [EASD])finds that individuals who experienced childhood adversity are at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D) in early adulthood.

21 Apr 2023

Early teen vapers may be at higher risk of persistent and heavier smoking later in adolescence

Young teen smokers who also vape may be at heightened risk of persistent and heavier smoking in their late teens, reveal the combined findings of two nationally representative UK and US studies, published online in the journal Tobacco Control.

19 Apr 2023

Placebo in addition to methadone shown to be feasible treatment for opioid use disorder

There were more than 100,000 reported deaths from opioid overdoses in 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

12 Apr 2023

Innovative statewide surveillance system will help reduce the burden of opioid use disorder in Kentucky

University of Kentucky researchers are creating an innovative statewide surveillance system to inform prevention and response efforts aimed at reducing the burden of opioid use disorder in Kentucky.

10 Apr 2023

Online "e-health" program helps people with chronic pain reduce opioids and pain intensity

An online "e-health" program helped more people with chronic pain reduce their opioid medications and pain intensity than a control group that had only regular treatment in a recent clinical study.

3 Apr 2023

Buprenorphine can be safely started in the ER without triggering withdrawal even for people using stronger opioids

Results from a multi-site clinical trial supported by the National Institutes of Health showed that less than 1% of people with opioid use disorder whose drug use includes fentanyl experienced withdrawal when starting buprenorphine in the emergency department.

30 Mar 2023

Study shows benefits of expanding the use of telehealth services for people with opioid use disorder

The expanded availability of opioid use disorder-related telehealth services and medications during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a lowered likelihood of fatal drug overdose among Medicare beneficiaries, according to a new study.

29 Mar 2023