Opioid Drug News and Research

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Nicotine triggers the same neural pathways that give opiates their addictively rewarding properties

In experiments with mice, researchers have found that nicotine triggers the same neural pathways that give opiates such as heroin their addictively rewarding properties--including associating an environment with the drug's reward.

15 Jun 2005

Combining morphine with small doses of methadone could increase the effectiveness of morphine for the treatment of chronic pain

Although morphine is well known as a highly effective analgesic, its clinical utility is severely limited by the development of drug tolerance, the requirement for increasing doses to maintain analgesic effect, and the development of physical dependence.

6 Jun 2005

Link between the protective effect of ischemic preconditioning in skeletal muscles and the substance that triggers hibernation

A phenomenon known as ischemic preconditioning (IP), in which blood flow to muscle is reduced and then restored, has previously been shown to increase muscle function, especially in the heart.

6 Jun 2005

Narcotic medications can safely and effectively ease severe, chronic pain in older people

Narcotic medications can safely and effectively ease severe, chronic pain in older people with little risk that these patients will seek ever-increasing doses, UCSF medical scientists have found. Younger patients, however, are likely to want to rapidly increase their medication dose, the researchers found, posing serious potential health consequences.

23 May 2005

Narcotic medications can safely and effectively ease severe, chronic pain in older people

Narcotic medications can safely and effectively ease severe, chronic pain in older people with little risk that these patients will seek ever-increasing doses, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) medical scientists have found. Younger patients, however, are likely to want to rapidly increase their medication dose, the researchers found, posing serious potential health consequences.

20 May 2005

Naltrexone combined with psychotherapy helps treat alcohol dependence

Long-acting injections of the drug naltrexone, combined with psychotherapy, significantly reduced heavy drinking in patients being treated for alcohol dependence, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association by a Yale School of Medicine researcher.

7 Apr 2005

Promising new treatment for alcohol dependence

According to the World Health Organization's Global Burden of Disease project, alcohol dependence, a major public health problem, ranks fourth as one of the worlds leading cause of disability. In the US alone over 100,000 deaths each year, where alcohol was a contributing factor, could have been prevented.

6 Apr 2005

Chronic pain treatments more effective when taken together

People suffering from chronic, debilitating pain caused by nerve damage or disease report better pain relief at lower doses of a combined drug treatment than from either drug administered individually, a new Queen’s study funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) shows.

3 Apr 2005

Electroacupuncture can lower blood pressure

Dr. John C. Longhurst, director of the Susan Samueli Centre for Integrative Medicine at UC Irvine ,and researchers, have found that acupuncture using low levels of electrical stimulation can lower elevations in blood pressure by as much as 50 percent.

30 Mar 2005

Acupuncture treatments using low levels of electrical stimulation can lower blood pressure

Acupuncture treatments using low levels of electrical stimulation can lower elevations in blood pressure by as much as 50 percent, researchers at the Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine at UC Irvine have found.

28 Mar 2005

Use of major opioid drugs combined with a history of previous relapse increased the likelihood of another relapse

The risk of relapse is significantly increased for health-care professionals treated for substance use disorders if they have coexisting psychiatric illness or a family history of substance abuse.

23 Mar 2005

International expert group discusses alternatives to COX-2 inhibitors

International group of pain specialists meets to develop recommendations for the treatment of chronic moderate-to-severe pain in the wake of the global withdrawal of rofecoxib (Vioxx) and concerns regarding use of other COX-2 inhibitors.

7 Mar 2005

Naltrexone helps alcoholics moderate their drinking

A little-known drug called naltrexone provides a “meaningful benefit” in helping alcoholics moderate their drinking, according to the latest review of evidence from 29 studies on four continents.

20 Feb 2005

Ingestion of afterbirth appears to promote maternal behavior in mammals

A behavioral neuroscientist at the University at Buffalo holds that the ingestion of afterbirth by a mother, a feature of pregnancy in nearly all non-human mammals, not only relieves postpartum pain, but optimizes the onset of maternal behavior by mediating the activity of specific opioid activity circuits in the brain.

13 Feb 2005

Are NSAIDS enough for cancer pain?

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are effective in managing cancer pain with few side effects, according to a new review of a number of studies.

24 Jan 2005

Women need less morphine after hysterectomies with new treatment

Women recovering from hysterectomies require less morphine to combat pain and are able to recover their lung function more quickly when they receive a combination of two non-morphine-like or “non-opioid” drugs as part of their treatment, a new Queen’s study shows.

5 Jan 2005

Supply problem with the opiate painkiller, diamorphine

The UK Department of Health has advised the NHS that there is a supply problem with the opiate painkiller, diamorphine, and that stocks may rapidly reach a critical level in the next few weeks.

26 Dec 2004

5000 year old system of medicine provides pain relief for people with osteoarthritis of the knee

A 5000 year old system of medicine, acupuncture provides pain relief and improves function for people with osteoarthritis of the knee and serves as an effective complement to standard care.

20 Dec 2004

FDA approves Combunox tablets for the short-term treatment of acute, moderate to severe pain

Forest Laboratories have announced that Combunox (Oxycodone HCl and Ibuprofen) Tablets (CII), the first and only fixed-dose combination of the opioid oxycodone HCl (5 mg) and the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) ibuprofen (400 mg), was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the short-term management of acute, moderate to severe pain.

29 Nov 2004

Long-term use of opioid prescriptions by veterans

Veteran patients who receive long-term opioid prescriptions generally are treated with modest and stable medication dosages, according to an article in the November 22 issue of The Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

23 Nov 2004

Opioid Drug News and Research

Nicotine triggers the same neural pathways that give opiates their addictively rewarding properties

Combining morphine with small doses of methadone could increase the effectiveness of morphine for the treatment of chronic pain

Link between the protective effect of ischemic preconditioning in skeletal muscles and the substance that triggers hibernation

Narcotic medications can safely and effectively ease severe, chronic pain in older people

Narcotic medications can safely and effectively ease severe, chronic pain in older people

Naltrexone combined with psychotherapy helps treat alcohol dependence

Promising new treatment for alcohol dependence

Chronic pain treatments more effective when taken together

Electroacupuncture can lower blood pressure

Acupuncture treatments using low levels of electrical stimulation can lower blood pressure

Use of major opioid drugs combined with a history of previous relapse increased the likelihood of another relapse

International expert group discusses alternatives to COX-2 inhibitors

Naltrexone helps alcoholics moderate their drinking

Ingestion of afterbirth appears to promote maternal behavior in mammals

Are NSAIDS enough for cancer pain?

Women need less morphine after hysterectomies with new treatment

Supply problem with the opiate painkiller, diamorphine

5000 year old system of medicine provides pain relief for people with osteoarthritis of the knee

FDA approves Combunox tablets for the short-term treatment of acute, moderate to severe pain

Long-term use of opioid prescriptions by veterans

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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