Opioid Addiction News and Research

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Failed osteoarthritis drug may help lessen opioid dependence

A new study from Indiana University suggests that a drug proven safe for use in people may prevent opioid tolerance and physical dependence when used in combination with opioid-based pain medications.

27 Feb 2018

Bipartisan Senate budget deal boosts health programs

In a rare show of bipartisanship for the mostly polarized 115th Congress, Republican and Democratic Senate leaders announced a two-year budget deal that would increase federal spending for defense as well as key domestic priorities, including many health programs.

8 Feb 2018

1 in 7 patients at risk for persistent opioid use after lung surgery

While the use of opioids after surgery is intended as a short-term strategy to relieve pain, many patients who weren't prior opioid users continue to take the medication for several months after their lung operations, becoming dependent and "persistent opioid users," according to research presented today at the 54th Annual Meeting of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.

30 Jan 2018

HHS nominee vows to tackle high drug costs, despite his ties to industry

Senate Democrats on Tuesday pressed President Donald Trump's nominee for the top health post to explain how he would fight skyrocketing drug prices — demanding to know why they should trust him to lower costs since he did not do so while running a major pharmaceutical company.

9 Jan 2018

An opioid remedy that works: Treat pain and addiction at the same time

Seven years ago, Robert Kerley, who makes his living as a truck driver, was loading drywall when a gust of wind knocked him off the trailer. Kerley fell 14 feet and hurt his back.

8 Jan 2018

Research finds rise in number of New Hampshire infants diagnosed with NAS

From 2005 to 2015 the number of infants diagnosed with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) in the Granite State increased fivefold, from 52 to 269, according to new research by the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire.

19 Dec 2017

Telemedicine for addiction treatment? Picture remains fuzzy

When President Donald Trump declared the opioid epidemic a public health emergency, it came with a regulatory change intended to make it easier for people to get care. The declaration allows for doctors to prescribe addiction medicine virtually, without ever seeing the patient in person.

14 Dec 2017

Opioids after surgery left her addicted. Is that a medical error?

In April this year, Katie Herzog checked into a Boston teaching hospital for what turned out to be a nine-hour-long back surgery.

11 Dec 2017

Treating the new hep C generation on their turf

Once a week, Dr. Diana Sylvestre puts her medical expertise to use in a rickety old house frequented by drug users in this small Northern California city.

7 Dec 2017

Stopping opioid addiction at one key source: The hospital

It may not be rocket science, but a group of surgeons at the University of Michigan's Michigan Medicine have devised a strategy to curb the nation's opioid epidemic — starting at their own hospital.

6 Dec 2017

Digital pills can help track opioid use patterns

Digital pills - gelatin capsules that contain an ingestible sensor along with medication - can help track patterns of drug use, and Brigham and Women's Hospital clinicians are among the first to explore the application of this new technology among patients being prescribed opioids.

20 Nov 2017

FDA permits marketing of first electric stimulation device to reduce opioid withdrawal symptoms

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted a new indication to an electric stimulation device for use in helping to reduce the symptoms of opioid withdrawal.

16 Nov 2017

Medicaid coverage for methadone could improve outcomes for pregnant women with OUD

Pregnant women with opioid use disorder (OUD) are more likely to receive evidence-based treatment with an "opioid agonist"- usually methadone- in states where those medications are covered by Medicaid, reports a study in the December issue of Medical Care, published by Wolters Kluwer.

14 Nov 2017

Taking a page from pharma’s playbook to fight the opioid crisis

Dr. Mary Meengs remembers the days, a couple of decades ago, when pharmaceutical salespeople would drop into her family practice in Chicago, eager to catch a moment between patients so they could pitch her a new drug.

14 Nov 2017

Researchers develop new drug screening method for rapid, accurate identification of fentanyl

Researchers at McMaster University have developed a new drug screening technique that could lead to the rapid and accurate identification of fentanyl, as well as a vast number of other drugs of abuse, which up until now have been difficult to detect by traditional urine tests.

3 Nov 2017

Sanford Health to evaluate effectiveness of non-opioid medications

Sanford Health is one of three sites in the U.S. to launch a study to determine if non-opioid medications are as effective in managing pain after carpal-tunnel surgery.

30 Oct 2017

Ameritox applauds President Trump’s declaration of opioid crisis as national public health emergency

Ameritox, a national leader in medication monitoring solutions for patients prescribed opioids and other medications for chronic pain and severe mental illness, today applauded the declaration of the opioid crisis as a national public health emergency by President Donald J. Trump.

30 Oct 2017