Opioids News and Research

RSS

An opioid is a chemical that works by binding to opioid receptors, which are found principally in the central nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract. The receptors in these two organ systems mediate both the beneficial effects and the side effects of opioids.

Blacks, Hispanics less likely to get strong pain drugs in emergency rooms

Despite increases in the overall use of opioid drugs to relieve severe pain, black and Hispanic patients remain significantly less likely than whites to receive these pain-relievers in emergency rooms, according to a new national study.

2 Jan 2008

Pain treatment in the field: Good for soldiers' comfort and better for rebuilding troop strength

Noncombat-related acute and recurrent chronic pain are the leading causes of soldier attrition in modern war, with the return-to-duty rate as low as 2 percent when these soldiers are treated outside the theaters of operation.

18 Dec 2007

Morphine for cancer pain relief

Cancer patients are suffering unnecessarily because they wrongly believe that morphine and other opioids are only used as “comfort for the dying” and as a “last resort” rather than seeing them as legitimate pain killers that can improve their quality of life.

10 Dec 2007

New non-addictive pain-killers

Two University of Adelaide pharmacologists working with one the world's leading neuroscientists have helped pave the way for the development of new pain-killing drugs that are not addictive.

20 Nov 2007

Anesthesia pouch allows children to go home sooner after surgery

Children recovering from orthopaedic surgery feel less pain and leave the hospital sooner when they go home with a small pouch that delivers local anesthetic agents and blocks pain transmission from surgical sites.

5 Nov 2007

Medicaid pays for one-third of drug abuse hospitalizations

Medicaid paid for more than one-third of the 1.3 million hospital stays related to prescription or illegal drug abuse in 2005, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

2 Nov 2007

Acupuncture before and during surgery reduces the need for powerful painkillers

A new study has found that using acupuncture before and during surgery significantly reduces the level of pain and level of painkillers needed by patients following surgery.

17 Oct 2007

Nicotine patch for prostate surgery relief?

The use of a nicotine patch - successfully used to help many smokers decrease their dependency on nicotine - was shown to reduce pain in men after prostate removal surgery in a new anesthesiology study.

15 Oct 2007

How does the opioid system work?

The opioid system controls pain, reward and addictive behaviors. Opioids exert their pharmacological actions through three opioid receptors, mu, delta and kappa whose genes have been cloned (Oprm, Oprd1 and Oprk1, respectively).

15 Oct 2007

New guidelines for treating low-back pain

The American College of Physicians (ACP) and the American Pain Society (APS) today released joint guidelines on diagnosing and treating low back pain.

2 Oct 2007

Research explains why opioids are thought to be ineffective in people with fibromyalgia

People who have the common chronic pain condition fibromyalgia often report that they don't respond to the types of medication that relieve other people's pain.

27 Sep 2007

Warning about dangerous potential of pain drug Fentora

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States has warned doctors about the dangers of a drug used to treat pain in cancer sufferers.

26 Sep 2007

Opioid-based pain medications may cause sleep apnea

Opioid-based pain medications may cause sleep apnea, according to an article in the September issue of Pain Medicine, the journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine.

10 Sep 2007

Watson Pharmaceuticals receives FDA approval for generic Duragesic

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it has received final approval from the United States (U.S.) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for fentanyl transdermal system in the 25, 50, 75 & 100 mcg/hour strengths.

21 Aug 2007

Cannabis mouth spray eases pain of cancer patients

Canadian health authorities have given approval for a new cannabis-based painkiller for use with cancer patients.

8 Aug 2007

Gastroenterologist-directed sedation safe and effective for endoscopic procedures

The use of an evidence-based sedation protocol for endoscopic procedures improves the quality of practice and reduces the incidence of sedation-related adverse events, according to an AGA Institute Review of Endoscopic Sedation published in the August issue of Gastroenterology , the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.

3 Aug 2007

National study to treat addiction to prescription pain medications

Researchers funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, launched the first large-scale national study evaluating a treatment for addiction to prescription opioid analgesics (i.e., painkillers) such as Vicodin and OxyContin.

10 Jul 2007

Pain management is a fundamental human right

A growing international consensus urges change in several areas - including increased availability of controlled medications such as opioids - toward the goal of recognizing effective treatment for pain as a fundamental human right, according to a special article in the July issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, the official publication of the International Anesthesia Research Society and published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

27 Jun 2007

First comprehensive description of sleep and wake patterns of cancer patients using continuous polysomnography

Patients with advanced-stage cancer experience very poor sleep quality and often have troubling staying awake, says Emory University researcher Kathy Parker, PhD, RN.

14 Jun 2007

AMPAKINE drugs may provide protection from drug-induced respiratory depression

Drug-induced respiratory depression is a life-threatening condition caused by analgesic, hypnotic, and anesthesia medications.

5 Jun 2007