Heroin News and Research

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Heroin is a very addictive chemical called diacetylmorphine. Heroin is a modified form of morphine, a highly abundant opium derived from the seedpods of the poppy plant.

DEA announces rules allowing participating pharmacies to collect medication for proper disposal

It will soon be much easier for Americans to safely dispose of unwanted medications. The U.S. Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) just announced rules allowing participating pharmacies, certain hospitals, clinics, and long-term care facilities to collect medication for proper disposal. The rules go into effect next month.

11 Sep 2014

People can become addicted to eating but not to consuming foods high in sugar or fat

People can become addicted to eating for its own sake but not to consuming specific foods such as those high in sugar or fat, research suggests.

10 Sep 2014

Longer looks: Alzheimer's and a marriage; racism in medicine; abortion restrictions in Texas

The US, which has a mostly private health-care system, manages to spend more on its public health-care system than countries where the health-care system is almost entirely public. America's government spends more, as a percentage of the economy, on public health care than Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan or Australia. And then it spends even more than that on private health care.

5 Sep 2014

Teens and young adults face high risk from opioid-involved overdose

The prevalence of opioid-involved overdoses has become an increasing concern to health officials both in NYC and nationally.

3 Sep 2014

State highlights: States seek health care autonomy; L.A. nursing home audit; promoting overdose-reversal drug

Kansas, Missouri and seven other states have signed on to a movement that would wrest regulation of most of the nation's health care insurance systems from the federal government.

30 Aug 2014

UH GCSW receives NIH grant to study health consequences of heroin use

The University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work is the recipient of a 5-year, $1.25 million grant from the National Institute of Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health to study the long-term use and health consequences of heroin use.

29 Aug 2014

First Edition: August 29, 2014

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the Obama administration and Pennsylvania reaching an agreement to expand Medicaid in that state.

29 Aug 2014

State highlights: Heroin deaths rise in N.Y.; TennCare computer system delay; Colo. races to win $87M to integrate care;

A heroin crisis gripping communities across the country deepened in New York last year, with more people in the city dying in overdoses from the drug than in any year since 2003. In all, 420 people fatally overdosed on heroin in 2013 out of a total of 782 drug overdoses, rising to a level not seen in a decade in both absolute numbers and as a population-adjusted rate, according to preliminary year-end data from the city's health department (Goodman, 8/28).

29 Aug 2014

First Edition: August 28, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about the Congressional Budget Office's latest projections regarding Medicare and Medicaid spending.

28 Aug 2014

Blood bank industry shrinks

Changed medical practice has reduced the need for blood transfusions, spurring cutbacks and mergers in the blood industry. Meanwhile, Chicago and two counties in California are suing five companies for "aggressive marketing" of opioid painkillers, accusing them of fueling addiction.

26 Aug 2014

First Edition: August 25, 2014

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations include reports on Medicare ratings of nursing homes, the growing demand for home-health aides and accounts of the Obama administration's new contraception coverage rules.

25 Aug 2014

Study of chronic users of CCS finds deficits in specific regions of brain white matter

An imaging study of chronic users of codeine-containing cough syrups (CCS) has found deficits in specific regions of brain white matter and associates these changes with increased impulsivity in CCS users.

21 Aug 2014

Acetyl fentanyl is more potent and dangerous than heroin

Emergency physicians should expect "an upswing in what on the surface appear to be heroin overdoses," but are actually overdoses tied to acetyl fentanyl, an opiate that is mixed into street drugs marketed as heroin.

19 Aug 2014

State highlights: Calif. hospital bid draws scrutiny; hospital house calls

Prime Healthcare Services Inc., a hospital chain that has come under fire for billing and patient privacy issues, is facing opposition over its potential acquisition of six California hospitals, including two medical centers in Los Angeles County. On Friday, hospital workers, union representatives and elected officials protested against Prime outside St. Vincent Medical Center near downtown Los Angeles, one of the six hospitals put up for sale this year by the Daughters of Charity Health System (Garland, 8/15).

19 Aug 2014

State highlights: Aging inmate care outside prison; Colo.'s teen birth rate drop; Minn. rural doc shortage

Providing health care to an aging prison population is a large and growing cost for states. Not only do inmates develop debilitating conditions at a younger age than people who are not incarcerated, but caring for them in the harsh environment of prisons is far more expensive than it is on the outside.

13 Aug 2014

First Edition: August 12, 2014

Today's headlines include stories about how the federal government's experience with healthcare.gov has led to the creation of the U.S. Digital Service.

12 Aug 2014

New lifesaving product aims at reducing death toll from heroin abuse

A new, lifesaving product aimed at reducing the death toll from heroin abuse — developed by a professor at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy — is in its final round of clinical trials and has received Fast Track designation by the Food and Drug Administration.

7 Aug 2014

New tool promises to reduce deaths caused by heroin overdose

A new, lifesaving product aimed at reducing the death toll from heroin abuse - developed by a professor at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy - is in its final round of clinical trials and has received Fast Track designation by the Food and Drug Administration.

7 Aug 2014

New study casts doubt on the effectiveness of brief counseling for illicit drug use

In an effort to stem substance use, the U.S. has invested heavily in the past decade in a brief screening-and-intervention protocol for alcohol and other drugs.

7 Aug 2014

Roundtable discussion on heroin and prescription drug abuse

Jersey Shore University Medical Center hosted a roundtable discussion on August 4, led by Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini, to discuss the continued growth in heroin and prescription drug abuse in the shore community.

5 Aug 2014

Heroin News and Research

Further Reading

DEA announces rules allowing participating pharmacies to collect medication for proper disposal

People can become addicted to eating but not to consuming foods high in sugar or fat

Longer looks: Alzheimer's and a marriage; racism in medicine; abortion restrictions in Texas

Teens and young adults face high risk from opioid-involved overdose

State highlights: States seek health care autonomy; L.A. nursing home audit; promoting overdose-reversal drug

UH GCSW receives NIH grant to study health consequences of heroin use

First Edition: August 29, 2014

State highlights: Heroin deaths rise in N.Y.; TennCare computer system delay; Colo. races to win $87M to integrate care;

First Edition: August 28, 2014

Blood bank industry shrinks

First Edition: August 25, 2014

Study of chronic users of CCS finds deficits in specific regions of brain white matter

Acetyl fentanyl is more potent and dangerous than heroin

State highlights: Calif. hospital bid draws scrutiny; hospital house calls

State highlights: Aging inmate care outside prison; Colo.'s teen birth rate drop; Minn. rural doc shortage

First Edition: August 12, 2014

New lifesaving product aims at reducing death toll from heroin abuse

New tool promises to reduce deaths caused by heroin overdose

New study casts doubt on the effectiveness of brief counseling for illicit drug use

Roundtable discussion on heroin and prescription drug abuse

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

From Puberty to Menopause: Clue’s CEO, Audrey Tsang on the Power of Femtech

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