Opioids News and Research

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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.

Lawsuit details how the Sackler family allegedly built an Oxycontin fortune

The first nine months of 2013 started off as a banner year for the Sackler family, owners of the pharmaceutical company that produces OxyContin, the addictive opioid pain medication. Purdue Pharma paid the family $400 million from its profits during that time, claims a lawsuit filed by the Massachusetts attorney general.

4 Feb 2019

Opioid overdose epidemic likely to increase in the U.S in coming years

A study from investigators at the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute for Technology Assessment projects that the opioid overdose epidemic in the U.S. is likely to increase in coming years, and that measures based on restricting access to prescription opioids will have a minimal impact in reducing overdose deaths.

3 Feb 2019

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What the Health?’ Live from D.C.: A look ahead at health policy in 2019

The 2020 presidential campaign has begun and health is a big part of it, with Democratic candidates pledging their support for "Medicare-for-all" and many of its variations.

31 Jan 2019

Research finds steep rise in infection-related stroke due to opioid epidemic

The opioid epidemic is fueling a steep rise in infection-related stroke hospitalizations, according to preliminary research to be presented in Honolulu at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2019, a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science and treatment of cerebrovascular disease.

30 Jan 2019

AMETEK SMP adds new Titanium strip grades to product portfolio for medical applications

Hamilton Precision Metals and SMP Wallingford are delighted to announce that they have added two new Titanium strip grades – grade 9 and 23 – to their product portfolio for medical applications.

From AMETEK Specialty Metal Products (SMP) 30 Jan 2019

Forensic anthropologist to study impact of opioid addiction on bones

Bones are a living record that constantly change over a person's life. Forensic anthropologists are tasked with deciphering clues from bones, and their study of skeletal remains aids in the identification of unknown individuals.

30 Jan 2019

CHOP physician-researchers analyze opioid prescription patterns in children

As the opioid epidemic continues to plague the United States, physician-researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia analyzed prescription patterns in children.

29 Jan 2019

Study highlights the detrimental effect of prescription opioids on labor markets

Prescription opioids may be negatively affecting labor force participation and unemployment nationwide, according to findings in a new study co-authored by economists at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and published in The Journal of Human Resources.

29 Jan 2019

Injection of opioids may increase infective endocarditis risk

People who inject drugs are at a high risk for a number of health issues. In a new study from ICES, Lawson Health Research Institute and Western University, researchers discovered a significant rise in the risk of infective endocarditis, a serious heart infection, among Ontarians who inject drugs.

28 Jan 2019

New research reveals that prescription opioids are used long-term to treat severe osteoarthritis

New research published in Arthritis & Rheumatology, an official journal of the American College of Rheumatology, reveals that prescription opioids are commonly used long-term to treat pain in older patients with severe osteoarthritis.

28 Jan 2019

Penn's novel ERAS protocol for spinal surgery patients reduces opioid use

A novel "Enhanced Recovery After Surgery" (ERAS) protocol developed by Penn Medicine for patients undergoing spinal and peripheral nerve surgery significantly reduced opioid use.

25 Jan 2019

UC team designs new naloxone-dispensing smart device

Like many cities across the country, Cincinnati has been rocked by the opioid epidemic, with an ever-fluctuating range of 50 to 80 overdoses per week across the Tristate. Many of those victims are revived by the overdose reversal medication, naloxone, which has proven to be a crucial lifesaving tool during this crisis.

23 Jan 2019

Opioid overdose patients can be safely discharged an hour after administration of naloxone

Suspected opioid overdose patients treated with naloxone are safe for discharge from the emergency department after one hour.

23 Jan 2019

Study takes a step closer to understanding the body's response to opioid painkillers

Researchers have taken a step closer to understanding the body's response to opioid painkillers such as morphine and fentanyl, which could lead to the development of safer opioid drugs.

21 Jan 2019

Increased physician-targeted marketing associated with higher opioid overdose deaths

Many individuals cite prescription opioids as their gateway to illicit opioid use. However, while prescription opioids are involved in more than one-third of all opioid overdose deaths in the U.S., examining any correlation between prescription opioid overdose deaths and pharmaceutical industry marketing has been limited -- until now.

21 Jan 2019

County by county, researchers link opioid deaths to drugmakers’ marketing

Researchers sketched a vivid line Friday linking the dollars spent by drugmakers to woo doctors around the country to a vast opioid epidemic that has led to tens of thousands of deaths.

18 Jan 2019

Opioid drugs often overprescribed to children for pain relief, say CHOP surgeons

Opioid drugs prescribed to children for pain relief after a typical pediatric orthopaedic procedure may be significantly overprescribed, according to a new study by researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).

17 Jan 2019

Most substance use disorder treatment facilities do not offer medication treatment

Despite the mounting death toll of America's opioid crisis, only a minority of facilities that treat substance use disorders offer patients buprenorphine, naltrexone or methadone--the three FDA-approved medications for the long-term management of opioid use disorder, according to a new study from researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

16 Jan 2019

Keele University researchers receive £2.4 million grant to help reduce overprescribing of opioids

A research team from Keele University's Institute for Primary Care and Health Sciences has been awarded a major grant of £2.4 million from the National Institute for Health Research to investigate the overprescribing of opioid painkillers, and to improve care for patients with persistent pain - without the use of long-term opioids.

14 Jan 2019

Meth’s resurgence spotlights lack of meds to combat the addiction

In 2016, news reports warned the public of an opioid epidemic gripping the nation. But Madeline Vaughn, then a lead clinical intake coordinator at the Houston-based addiction treatment organization Council on Recovery, sensed something different was going on with the patients she checked in from the street.