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.

US physicians with waivers increase potential access to effective medication-assisted treatment

American physicians with waivers allowing them to provide office-based medication-assisted buprenorphine treatment to patients addicted to opioids were able to increase potential access to effective medication-assisted treatment by 74 percent from 2002 to 2011, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

11 Jun 2015

Kaiser Permanente study identifies barriers to prescribing potentially life-saving medication

A variety of factors including questions about risk and reluctance to offend patients limits clinician willingness to prescribe a potentially life-saving medication that counteracts the effects of an opioid overdose, according to a Kaiser Permanente Colorado study published today in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

10 Jun 2015

Simple steps help accelerate recovery, reduce cost of care in people undergoing colorectal surgery

Simple steps that include the consistent use of experienced medical teams for a single type of surgery, preemptive antibiotics before the procedure, less reliance on potent opioids during recovery and urging patients to get out of bed and move around sooner can not only prevent infections, blood clots and other serious complications in people undergoing colorectal operations, but can also accelerate recovery and reduce cost of care, according to results of an ongoing program at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.

10 Jun 2015

Braeburn reports positive topline results from Probuphine Phase 3 study for treatment of opioid addiction

Braeburn Pharmaceuticals, an Apple Tree Partners company, today reported positive topline results from the Phase 3 double-blind, double-dummy clinical study of Probuphine, the investigational subdermal implant containing buprenorphine HCl for the long-term maintenance treatment of opioid addiction.

8 Jun 2015

Egalet announces top-line results from Egalet-002 study in moderate drinkers

Egalet Corporation, a fully integrated specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing, manufacturing and marketing innovative pain treatments, today announced top-line results from a randomized, four-way crossover alcohol-interaction study in healthy male and female moderate drinkers with Egalet-002, an abuse-deterrent, extended-release, oral oxycodone-based product in development for the management of pain severe enough to require daily, around-the-clock opioid treatment and for which alternative treatments are inadequate.

4 Jun 2015

Category 1 findings support robust abuse-deterrent features of Egalet-002 for management of severe pain

Egalet Corporation, a fully integrated specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing, manufacturing and marketing innovative pain treatments, today announced positive top-line results from Category 1 abuse-deterrent studies for Egalet-002, an abuse-deterrent, extended-release, oral oxycodone-based product in development for the management of pain severe enough to require daily, around-the-clock opioid treatment and for which alternative treatments are inadequate.

1 Jun 2015

US patients undergoing orthopaedic surgery receive more treatments for pain

New research presented at this year's Euroanaesthesia conference in Berlin shows that American patients undergoing orthopaedic surgery* receive more treatments for pain and that their experience of pain differs in some aspects to orthopaedic patients internationally.

1 Jun 2015

BioDelivery Sciences calls for new treatment options for opioid addiction

As the rate of opioid abuse soars to new levels, growing recognition of the problem is garnering unprecedented media attention—as well as motivating innovative new approaches to better treatment.

30 May 2015

Study points to the importance of addressing health-related needs of ex-prisoners

Ex-prisoners with a history of risky drug use, mental illness or poverty are more likely to end up back behind bars. Those who are obese, are chronically ill or have attempted suicide are more likely to remain in the community. These are some of the findings from an exploratory study into health-related factors that could be used to predict whether a person released from prison will end up in custody again.

29 May 2015

Canadian researchers shed light on molecular dynamics of chronic pain

Chronic pain affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide and is a major cause of disability, causing more disability than cancer and heart disease. Canadian researchers, including Michael Salter at SickKids are shedding light on the molecular dynamics of chronic pain. They have uncovered a critical role for a class of cells present in the brain and spinal cord, called microglia, in pain.

27 May 2015

Scientists find new way to convert blood cells into sensory neurons

Scientists at McMaster University have discovered how to make adult sensory neurons from human patients simply by having them roll up their sleeve and providing a blood sample.

22 May 2015

FDA accepts Tris Pharma's Dyanavel XR NDA for review

Tris Pharma, Inc. announced that U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted for review its New Drug Application ("NDA") for Dyanavel XR (amphetamine) CII, an Extended-Release Oral Suspension.

21 May 2015

Total costs of treatment for babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome on the rise

As more infants are born to mothers with dependence on prescription pain medications, the costs of treatment for babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) have increased dramatically, suggests a report in the March/April issue of the Journal of Addiction Medicine, the official journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine.

20 May 2015

Twin Cities Orthopedics joins Deterra partnership program to reduce prescription drug abuse and misuse

Verde Technologies announced that Golden Valley-based Twin Cities Orthopedics, the largest orthopedic group in Minnesota, has become its most recent partner in the fight against prescription drug abuse and misuse.

19 May 2015

Fibromyalgia now considered as a lifelong central nervous system disorder

Fibromyalgia is the second most common rheumatic disorder behind osteoarthritis and, though still widely misunderstood, is now considered to be a lifelong central nervous system disorder, which is responsible for amplified pain that shoots through the body in those who suffer from it.

18 May 2015

APS honors recipients of Clinical Centers of Excellence in Pain Management Awards

The American Pain Society today honored the recipients of its annual Clinical Centers of Excellence in Pain Management Awards recognizing the nation's outstanding pain care centers. Five multidisciplinary pain programs were recognized.

15 May 2015

APS announces recipients of prestigious achievement awards during annual scientific meeting

The American Pain Society (APS), www.americanpainsociety.org, today announced the recipients of its prestigious achievement awards during the organization's annual scientific meeting.

14 May 2015

Patients who report 'weekend-only' drug use expand drug use to weekdays too

More than half of patients who report "weekend-only" drug use end up expanding their drug use to weekdays, too -- suggesting that primary care clinicians should monitor patients who acknowledge "recreational" drug use, says a new study by Boston University public health and medicine researchers.

13 May 2015

Orexigen Therapeutics provides update on business and financial results for Q1 2015

Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. today announced business and financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015.

8 May 2015

Neonatal abstinence syndrome on the rise in U.S.

The number of infants born in the United States with drug withdrawal symptoms, also known as neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), nearly doubled in a four-year period. By 2012, one infant was born every 25 minutes in the U.S. with the syndrome, accounting for $1.5 billion in annual health care charges, according to a new Vanderbilt study published in the Journal of Perinatology.

30 Apr 2015