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.

Study reveals increasing incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome in U.S.

An increasing number of babies across the country are born addicted to opioids and require intensive care, according to a study analyzing MEDNAX Clinical Data Warehouse statistics from 299 neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) around the United States.

28 Apr 2015

Positive CHMP opinion recommends RELISTOR for treatment of opioid-induced constipation

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. and Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency has adopted a positive opinion recommending a new indication for RELISTOR (methylnaltrexone bromide) Subcutaneous Injection for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation (OIC) when response to laxative therapy has not been sufficient in adult patients, aged 18 years and older.

25 Apr 2015

Early and guideline adherent physical therapy reduces costs, resources in LBP patients

A study in the scientific journal BMC Health Services Research shows that early and guideline adherent physical therapy following an initial episode of acute, nonspecific low back pain (LBP) resulted in substantially lower costs and reduced use of health care resources over a 2-year period.

10 Apr 2015

MOVANTIK (naloxegol) now available in U.S. for treatment of OIC in adult patients with non-cancer pain

Nektar Therapeutics reported that partner AstraZeneca announced today that MOVANTIK (naloxegol) has launched in the United States. On September 16, 2014, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved MOVANTIK as the first once-daily oral peripherally-acting mu-opioid receptor antagonist (PAMORA) medication for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation (OIC) in adult patients with chronic, non-cancer pain.

31 Mar 2015

Study provides new estimates of opioid misuse, addiction

New estimates suggest that 20 to 30 percent of opioid analgesic drugs prescribed for chronic pain are misused, while the rate of opioid addiction is approximately 10 percent, reports a study in the April issue of PAIN, the official journal of the International Association for the Study of Pain.

31 Mar 2015

Data demonstrates benefits associated with use of EXPAREL in hip, knee replacement patients

Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced data demonstrating the benefits associated with the use of EXPAREL (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension) in a study of over 2,200 hip and knee replacement patients.

27 Mar 2015

Mesenchymal stem cell transplantation reduces opioid tolerance, opioid-induced pain

Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) transplantation reduced opioid tolerance and opioid-induced hyperalgesia caused by daily morphine injections in rats, according to new research.

25 Mar 2015

Healthcare systems miss life-saving treatments learnt on battlefield

Trauma is responsible for more global deaths annually than HIV, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Yet healthcare systems in many countries are missing out on life-saving treatments learnt on the battlefield, according to a review by King's College London and published today in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.

20 Mar 2015

Daiichi Sankyo signs co-commercialization agreement with AstraZeneca for MOVANTIK (naloxegol)

Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. today announced a co-commercialization agreement with AstraZeneca for MOVANTIK (naloxegol) in the US, in line with the Daiichi Sankyo strategy to expand its US portfolio through strategic alliances, in addition to internal R&D and acquisitions.

19 Mar 2015

United Therapeutics announces FDA approval of dinutuximab for treatment of high-risk neuroblastoma

United Therapeutics Corporation announced today that the United States Food and Drug Administration has approved Unituxin (dinutuximab) Injection (formerly called ch14.18), in combination with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interleukin-2 (IL-2), and 13-cis-retinoic acid (RA), for the treatment of pediatric patients with high-risk neuroblastoma who achieve at least a partial response to prior first-line multiagent, multimodality therapy.

10 Mar 2015

Stepped-care strategy improves function, decreases pain severity in veterans

Although U.S. military veterans who have returned from Iraq or Afghanistan are more likely to suffer chronic pain than veterans of any other conflict in American history, little headway has been made in helping them manage the often debilitating effects of chronic pain.

10 Mar 2015

Investigational drug may attack cause of vaso-occlusion crises in sickle cell anemia

Treatment for painful episodes of blood vessel obstruction in sickle cell anemia is currently limited to controlling pain, but an investigational therapy might be able to interfere with the underlying cause of these events, known as vaso-occlusion crises, researchers at Duke Medicine report.

3 Mar 2015

Survey: Only 53% of primary care physicians use state's prescription drug monitoring programs

In a new survey, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that physicians report relatively high awareness of state databases that track drug prescriptions but more than one-fifth indicated they were not aware of their state's program at all.

3 Mar 2015

Anticholinergic medications associated with pneumonia risk in older people

Taking commonly used medications with anticholinergic effects is associated with a significantly higher risk for developing pneumonia in a study of more than 3,000 older Group Health patients living in the community--not in nursing homes.

3 Mar 2015

Pain from social rejection lasts longer for people with untreated depression

Rejected by a person you like? Just "shake it off" and move on, as music star Taylor Swift says.

27 Feb 2015

New, first-of-its-kind app helps patients with chronic pain track opioid use

A new, first-of-its-kind app has launched to help patients suffering from chronic pain track their opioid use and measure pain levels to assist with the safe use of opioids.

25 Feb 2015

International study shows potential new therapy to treat patients with neuropathic pain

An international study led by scientists at McGill University reports, for the first time, that drugs that selectively target the melatonin MT2 receptor represent a novel class of analgesic drugs that could be used to treat patients with neuropathic pain.

19 Feb 2015

Prescription painkiller abuse: A worst drug overdose epidemic in history

The Centers for Disease Control calls prescription painkiller abuse "one of the worst drug overdose epidemics in history."

19 Feb 2015

BUSM's medical education program wins HIDTA award for Outstanding Prevention Effort

White House Drug Control Policy Director Michael Botticelli has awarded Boston University School of Medicine's Safe and Competent Opioid Prescribing Education (SCOPE of Pain) program a 2014 National High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) award for Outstanding Prevention Effort.

19 Feb 2015

New compound appears to play role in development of opioid tolerance

While opioids are a widely used treatment for pain, patients who take them on a regular basis can become tolerant, requiring a higher dose for continued pain relief. In a study published in Anesthesiology, the official medical journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, researchers identified a compound that appears to play a role in the development of opioid tolerance.

18 Feb 2015

Opioids News and Research

Further Reading

Study reveals increasing incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome in U.S.

Positive CHMP opinion recommends RELISTOR for treatment of opioid-induced constipation

Early and guideline adherent physical therapy reduces costs, resources in LBP patients

MOVANTIK (naloxegol) now available in U.S. for treatment of OIC in adult patients with non-cancer pain

Study provides new estimates of opioid misuse, addiction

Data demonstrates benefits associated with use of EXPAREL in hip, knee replacement patients

Mesenchymal stem cell transplantation reduces opioid tolerance, opioid-induced pain

Healthcare systems miss life-saving treatments learnt on battlefield

Daiichi Sankyo signs co-commercialization agreement with AstraZeneca for MOVANTIK (naloxegol)

United Therapeutics announces FDA approval of dinutuximab for treatment of high-risk neuroblastoma

Stepped-care strategy improves function, decreases pain severity in veterans

Investigational drug may attack cause of vaso-occlusion crises in sickle cell anemia

Survey: Only 53% of primary care physicians use state's prescription drug monitoring programs

Anticholinergic medications associated with pneumonia risk in older people

Pain from social rejection lasts longer for people with untreated depression

New, first-of-its-kind app helps patients with chronic pain track opioid use

International study shows potential new therapy to treat patients with neuropathic pain

Prescription painkiller abuse: A worst drug overdose epidemic in history

BUSM's medical education program wins HIDTA award for Outstanding Prevention Effort

New compound appears to play role in development of opioid tolerance

Achieving and maintaining ISO 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

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