Opioid Addiction News and Research

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Point/Counterpoint: Experts debate how to control exploding opioid epidemic

Two experts with opposing views squared off on the hotly debated topic of how best to control the exploding opioid epidemic in the U.S.- with increasing regulation of physician prescribing practices or by better educating patients and doctors.

12 Apr 2017

Study reveals that 25% of women with prenatal opioid addiction are not being treated

A new study by Queen's University researcher Susan Brogly (Surgery) has revealed that 25 per cent of women suffering from a prenatal opioid dependence were not being treated for their addiction.

5 Apr 2017

Oxytocin system may be key target for developing medications to treat opioid addiction

A new review of published research indicates that the oxytocin system—a key player in social reward and stress regulation—is profoundly affected by opioid use.

5 Apr 2017

Researchers uncover link between adult opioid misuse and childhood emotional abuse

A study by researchers at the University of Vermont has revealed a link between adult opioid misuse and childhood emotional abuse, a new finding that suggests a rethinking of treatment approaches for opioid abusers.

14 Mar 2017

SCS therapy can be key to reducing use of opioids in patients battling chronic pain, study finds

New research has found spinal cord stimulation (SCS) therapy can be key to reducing or stabilizing the use of opioids in patients battling chronic pain.

20 Jan 2017

Risky opioid prescribing rates drop after new VA initiative, study finds

Fewer veterans received prescriptions for risky dosages of opioid painkillers after a national initiative took aim at reducing high doses and potentially dangerous drug combinations, a new study finds.

11 Jan 2017

Gulf Breeze Recovery underscores importance of high-quality programs for treating opioid addiction

As opioid addiction hits record highs, Gulf Breeze Recovery, a Florida-based addiction recovery center, stresses the importance of high-quality, successful programs for treating addiction.

26 Dec 2016

Opioid users treated in compulsory drug detention centre more likely to relapse, study shows

People with chronic opioid use disorders are more likely to relapse and do so sooner if they are treated in a compulsory drug detention centre rather than a voluntary drug treatment centre using methadone maintenance therapy, according to the first study comparing the outcome of both approaches published in The Lancet Global Health.

9 Dec 2016

New study to explore link between sleep and chronic pain

Washington State University will lead a study to understand the relationship between sleep and chronic pain, part of a nationwide effort to address the rising abuse of opioid pain relievers and expand the arsenal of non-drug treatment options.

5 Dec 2016

UAB physician calls for better education, legislation to help patients with opioid abuse

The U.S. opioid epidemic has evolved so much in the last four years that current federal policy responses risk diminishing returns in saving human lives, according to a new peer-reviewed perspective by University of Alabama at Birmingham Associate Professor of Preventive medicine Stefan Kertesz, M.D. His perspective was published online in the addiction journal Substance Abuse.

24 Nov 2016

New vaccine shows potential to decrease risk of fatal opioid overdose

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have developed a vaccine that blocks the pain-numbing effects of the opioid drugs oxycodone and hydrocodone in animal models.

23 Nov 2016

Medical cannabis may help treat mental health problems and opioid addiction

Using marijuana could help some alcoholics and people addicted to opioids kick their habits, a UBC study has found.

16 Nov 2016

John Cryer MP, CPPC and TalkHealth jointly launch new chronic pain patient medication survey

It is thought that more than 28 million British people across the United Kingdom suffer with chronic pain, with 8 million of those reporting pain that is moderately to severely disabling.

19 Oct 2016

Urgent Matters announces recipients of Emergency Care Innovation of the Year Award

Urgent Matters, Philips Blue Jay Consulting, and Schumacher Clinical Partners are pleased to announce the winners of the Emergency Care Innovation of the Year Award, a competition to foster innovation in emergency departments nationwide.

17 Oct 2016

Wayne State receives NIH grant to study use of opioid addiction drug to fight relapse in recovering addicts

A team led by Wayne State University School of Medicine researcher Mark Greenwald, Ph.D., will use a four-year, $2,279,723 competitively renewed grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health to explore whether the opioid addiction treatment medication buprenorphine can decrease the magnitude and/or duration of responses to stressors faced by recovering addicts.

15 Oct 2016

New study finds opioid dependence affects perception of cute images of babies

A new pilot study has found that opioid dependence - which includes dependence on drugs such as heroin - affects how 'cute' we perceive images of children to be.

19 Sep 2016

Hospitalizations for injection drug use-related infective endocarditis increasing among young Americans

Hospitalizations for infective endocarditis, a heart valve infection often attributed to injection drug use, have increased significantly among young adult Americans--particularly in whites and females--according to a new study by researchers from Tufts Medical Center and Tufts University School of Medicine.

1 Sep 2016

New non-drug approach may help manage pain in individuals receiving addiction treatment

It's a Catch-22 with potentially deadly consequences: People trying to overcome addiction can't get treatment for their pain, because the most powerful pain medicines also carry an addiction risk.

27 Jul 2016

Adults with pain could be at higher risk of developing prescription opioid use disorders

What do we really know about the relationship between the experience of pain and risk of developing opioid use disorder? Results from a recent study - the first to directly address this question -- show that people with moderate or more severe pain had a 41 percent higher risk of developing prescription opioid use disorders than those without, independent of other demographic and clinical factors.

22 Jul 2016

Patients with cLBP more likely to use illicit drugs, study reports

People living with chronic low back pain (cLBP) are more likely to use illicit drugs -- including marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine -- compared to those without back pain, reports a study in Spine, published by Wolters Kluwer.

21 Jul 2016