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.

Increasing deaths from opioid analgesics in the United States

Trends analysis of drug poisoning deaths has helped explain a national epidemic of overdose deaths in the USA that began in the 1990s, concludes Leonard Paulozzi and colleagues at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

24 Jul 2006

Increasing deaths from opioid analgesics in the United States

24 Jul 2006

Novel research points to promising relief target for chronic pain

By some accounts, chronic pain affects nearly 100 million Americans from such varied causes as arthritis, sciatica, cancer, diabetes. Most forms of pain result from identifiable causes which serve the "good" purpose in warning of a real physical problem that needs attention, or rest.

6 Jun 2006

Buprenorphine is more effective than clonidine at helping people withdraw from opioids

It probably has similar effect as methadone, but withdrawal symptoms may resolve more quickly with buprenorphine.

18 Apr 2006

Researchers identify potential targets for more effective analgesic drugs with potentially fewer side effects

Studying mice, pain researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified two key components in the pain cascade that may provide targets for more effective analgesic drugs with potentially fewer side effects

6 Apr 2006

UV light has "feel-good" effects that may be similar to those of some addictive drugs

Frequent users of tanning beds may be getting more out of the experience than darker skin, according to researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

3 Apr 2006

High narcotic use among headache sufferers

A new analysis of nearly 6.2 million insured patients shows that migraine was under diagnosed and often untreated.

9 Mar 2006

More training needed to ensure accuracy of urine drug tests

In a survey of primary care physicians, most reported not using proper techniques when collecting urine samples for drug tests on adolescents and were often unaware of the tests' limitations, according to an article in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

9 Feb 2006

New insights into pain mechanisms

Long treated as a side effect, pain is now widely recognized as an integral part of patient care.

7 Dec 2005

Link between eating and pain relief - brain stem blocks pain to protect key behaviors

Certain behaviors, such as eating, drinking and urinating, are so crucial to survival that the brains of all vertebrates contain clusters of nerve cells that can suppress pain long enough to allow the animal to eat, drink - or pee - in peace.

15 Nov 2005

Fentanyl transdermal patch is an effective way to control pain in children

A new study says using a transdermal patch to deliver the opioid fentanyl is an effective way to control pain in children

14 Nov 2005

Studies outline dangers of mixing stress, deprivation and tempting foods

Two studies in the October issue of Behavioral Neuroscience show that when animals are stressed, deprived and exposed to tempting food, they overeat, with different degrees of interaction.

7 Nov 2005

Evaluation of the efficacy of buprenorphine hydrochloride and clonidine hydrochloride, in detoxification of opioid-dependent teenagers

In a comparison of two drugs prescribed to treat teenagers dependent on heroin and other opioids, the drug buprenorphine was more effective, especially in treatment retention, according to a study in the October issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

4 Oct 2005

Possibility of tailored treatments for addiction based on how a person's genes behave

Scientists have learned how a genetic variation long suspected in making some people susceptible to alcoholism and narcotic drug addiction actually does so.

27 Sep 2005

Brain can be tricked into thinking the pain has gone

A new U.S. study has found that it is possible that by just thinking that a medicine will relieve pain is enough to prompt the brain to release its own natural painkillers, and soothe painful sensations.

24 Aug 2005

First direct evidence that endorphins play a role in the phenomenon known as the placebo effect

Just thinking that a medicine will relieve pain is enough to prompt the brain to release its own natural painkillers, and soothe painful sensations, a new University of Michigan study finds.

23 Aug 2005

Mixing slow-release painkillers with alcohol - potentially deadly

Health Canada has issued a warning that mixing some slow-release painkillers with alcohol could be potentially deadly.

4 Aug 2005

Prescription drug abuse in the USA exceeds 15 million

A recently released report by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University suggests between 1992 and 2003, more Americans were abusing controlled prescription drugs than cocaine, hallucinogens, inhalants and heroin put together.

11 Jul 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

Opioids News and Research

Further Reading

Increasing deaths from opioid analgesics in the United States

Increasing deaths from opioid analgesics in the United States

Novel research points to promising relief target for chronic pain

Buprenorphine is more effective than clonidine at helping people withdraw from opioids

Researchers identify potential targets for more effective analgesic drugs with potentially fewer side effects

UV light has "feel-good" effects that may be similar to those of some addictive drugs

High narcotic use among headache sufferers

More training needed to ensure accuracy of urine drug tests

New insights into pain mechanisms

Link between eating and pain relief - brain stem blocks pain to protect key behaviors

Fentanyl transdermal patch is an effective way to control pain in children

Studies outline dangers of mixing stress, deprivation and tempting foods

Evaluation of the efficacy of buprenorphine hydrochloride and clonidine hydrochloride, in detoxification of opioid-dependent teenagers

Possibility of tailored treatments for addiction based on how a person's genes behave

Brain can be tricked into thinking the pain has gone

First direct evidence that endorphins play a role in the phenomenon known as the placebo effect

Mixing slow-release painkillers with alcohol - potentially deadly

Prescription drug abuse in the USA exceeds 15 million

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

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

Latest News