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Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opiate analgesic similar to but more potent than morphine. It is typically used to treat patients with severe pain, or to manage pain after surgery. It is also sometimes used to treat people with chronic pain who are physically tolerant to opiates. It is a schedule II prescription drug.

Patients who start long-term buprenorphine treatment are less likely to use opioids

In a first-ever randomized trial, patients at a short-term inpatient program began long-term outpatient treatment with buprenorphine before discharge, with better outcomes than detox patients.

21 Aug 2019

Researchers find biological system that manages cells' response to opioid drug exposure

A team at Scripps Research in Florida has discovered a biological system that manages cells' response to opioid drug exposure. The unexpected discovery offers new ideas for improving the safety of the one of the most effective, and most abused, group of pain medications.

19 Aug 2019

Among hurdles for those with opioid addictions: Getting the drug to treat it

Louis Morano knew what he needed, and he knew where to get it. He made his way to a mobile medical clinic parked on a corner of Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood, in the geographical heart of the city's overdose crisis. People call it "the bupe bus."

16 Aug 2019

NIH awards $2.3 million for pilot project to develop opioid vaccine

The NIH has awarded $2.3M for a pilot project, led by Boston Children's Hospital, to develop a vaccine that would protect people with opioid use disorder against an accidental fentanyl overdose.

8 Aug 2019

Opioid overdose deaths on the decline says CDC but the real picture may still be grim

The opioid epidemic began in the 1990s with hundreds of deaths occurring each year due to overdose of these drugs of abuse. According to the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), for the first time in two decades, there has been a drop of 5 percent in the opioid overdose deaths in 2018.

17 Jul 2019

Medicare going in ‘right direction’ on opioid epidemic

Prescriptions for two drugs used to treat opioid addiction increased significantly from 2016 to 2018 for people on Medicare, according to a federal report out Wednesday.

10 Jul 2019

UM scientists receive $3.3 million NIH contract to develop opioid addiction vaccine

The University of Montana has received a $3.3 million contract from the National Institutes of Health to develop an innovative vaccine targeting opioid addiction.

10 Jul 2019

Florida is the latest Republican-led state to adopt clean needle exchanges

A green van was parked on the edge of downtown Miami, on a corner shadowed by overpasses. The vehicle serves as a mobile health clinic and syringe exchange, where people who inject drugs like heroin and fentanyl could swap dirty needles for fresh ones.

2 Jul 2019

Study: Dozens of counties in the U.S. are at highest risk for opioid deaths

Dozens of counties in the Midwest and South are at the highest risk for opioid deaths in the United States, say University of Michigan researchers.

29 Jun 2019

Study finds increase in fatal opioid overdoses after cold weather

Cold weather snaps are followed by a marked increase in fatal opioid overdoses, a new study finds.

17 Jun 2019

Federal grants ‘a lifesaver’ in opioid fight, but states still struggle to curb meth

In his 40 years of working with people struggling with addiction, David Crowe has seen various drugs fade in and out of popularity in Pennsylvania's Crawford County.

17 Jun 2019

Opioids alone cannot be blamed for growing life expectancy inequality in the U.S.

A new University of Michigan study challenges a popularized view about what's causing the growing gap between the lifespans of more- and less-educated Americans- finding shortcomings in the widespread narrative that the United States is facing an epidemic of "despair."

14 Jun 2019

Opioid prescriptions drop sharply among state workers

The agency that manages health care for California's massive state workforce is reporting a major reduction in opioid prescriptions, reflecting a national trend of physicians cutting back on the addictive drugs.

21 May 2019

GPs must be better-equipped to tackle chronic opioid use

GPs must be better-equipped to support patients to manage the psychological challenge of reducing their opioid use - according to new research from the University of East Anglia.

13 May 2019

Addiction medicine mostly prescribed to whites, even as opioid deaths rose among blacks

White drug users addicted to heroin, fentanyl and other opioids have had near-exclusive access to buprenorphine, a drug that curbs the craving for opioids and reduces the chance of a fatal overdose.

8 May 2019

Meth vs. opioids: America has two drug epidemics, but focuses on one

Kim had been wine tasting with a friend in Sonoma, Calif. They got into an argument in the car that night and Kim thought someone was following them. She was utterly convinced. And she had to get away.

7 May 2019

Study shines light on geographic variation in pediatric deaths from opioid poisonings

A new study shines light on pediatric opioid deaths by U.S. region, the first time a study of this nature has been conducted. Findings from the study will be presented during the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) 2019 Meeting, taking place on April 24 - May 1 in Baltimore.

27 Apr 2019

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