Methadone News and Research

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Evolving overdose crisis shakes previously effective treatments

"You can't inject a horse tranquilizer and think nothing bad is gonna happen" to you, said Ty Sears, 33, a longtime drug user now in recovery.

21 Nov 2023

New prediction model estimates risk of opioid relapse early in treatment

A newly developed prediction model may be able to calculate the risk of opioid relapse among individuals in the early stages of medication treatment-;as early as three weeks into therapy.

3 Nov 2023

Opioid use disorder treatment lowers risk of overdose after surgery, study finds

Although people with opioid use disorder (OUD) are significantly more likely to overdose or have a complication after major surgery than those without the disorder, using medications for the treatment of OUD before surgery may eliminate that extra risk, suggests a large, first-of-its-kind study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2023 annual meeting.

15 Oct 2023

ADHD drug could serve as a cocaine-replacement therapy

Cocaine use continues to be a public health problem, yet despite concerted efforts, no drugs have been approved to resolve cocaine addiction. Research suggests that the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder drug methylphenidate (MPH; Ritalin) could serve as a cocaine-replacement therapy, but clinical results have been mixed.

30 Aug 2023

American Heart Association calls for more research on e-cigarettes

Research increasingly reveals health risks of e-cigarette use, and more studies are needed about the long-term impact e-cigarettes may have on the heart and lungs, according to a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association published today in the Association's flagship journal Circulation.

17 Jul 2023

The American Journal of Health Economics articles examine policies to address opioid crisis

The August 2023 issue of the American Journal of Health Economics will feature a cluster of articles that examine the opioid crisis.

10 Jul 2023

Study reveals wide discrepancies among U.S. states in treating opioid use disorder

Despite a national opioid overdose epidemic supercharged by a surge of illicit fentanyl, new research from Oregon Health & Science University reveals wide discrepancies among U.S. states in effectively treating opioid use disorder among people covered by Medicaid.

23 Jun 2023

New insight from patients on what helps or hinders medication-assisted opioid use disorder treatment

Patients would be more willing to enter medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder if existing stigmas were reduced and more accessible payment support was readily available, a West Virginia University study finds.

6 Jun 2023

California confronts the threat of ‘tranq’ as overdose crisis rages

When the city's medical examiner announced in February that four people who had recently died of overdoses had the animal sedative xylazine in their systems, public health workers across the state sprang into action.

5 Jun 2023

California’s fentanyl problem is getting worse

California has allocated more than $1 billion in recent years to combat its opioid crisis. Much of the money has been used to distribute fentanyl test strips and the overdose reversal drug naloxone, as well as deliver medical care to people who are homeless.

23 May 2023

California confronts overdose epidemic among former prison inmates

Michael Vera walked into a bedroom of a residential drug treatment program in Los Angeles in March to find its occupant slumped over on his bed and struggling to breathe, a homemade straw on the floor beside him and tinfoil with what appeared to be drug residue under his body.

10 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

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

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

End of covid emergency will usher in changes across the US health system

The Biden administration's decision to end the covid-19 public health emergency in May will institute sweeping changes across the health care system that go far beyond many people having to pay more for covid tests.

22 Mar 2023

Smoking cessation drug may help people stop using cocaine while in treatment for OUD

For some people receiving methadone for treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD), the co-use of opioids and stimulants such as cocaine is an issue.

15 Mar 2023

New CDC opioid guidelines: Too little, too late for chronic pain patients?

Jessica Layman estimates she has called more than 150 doctors in the past few years in her search for someone to prescribe opioids for her chronic pain.

15 Mar 2023

As opioids mixed with animal tranquilizers arrive in Kensington, so do alarming health challenges

Many people living on the streets in Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood — the largest open-air drug market on the East Coast — are in full-blown addiction, openly snorting, smoking, or injecting illicit drugs, hunched over crates or on stoops. Syringes litter sidewalks, and the stench of urine fouls the air.

15 Feb 2023

Buprenorphine-involved overdose deaths did not increase after implementation of prescribing flexibilities

The proportion of opioid overdose deaths involving buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid use disorder, did not increase in the months after prescribing flexibilities were put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study.

20 Jan 2023

Combination therapy could be a safe choice for oral opioid maintenance treatment during pregnancy

Current guidelines recommend that pregnant women with opioid use disorder be prescribed either methadone or buprenorphine, but these drugs too have significant potential for abuse.

11 Jan 2023