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.

HHS calls health care providers to expand use of medications to treat opioid addiction, reduce overdose deaths

A national response to the epidemic of prescription opioid overdose deaths was outlined yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine by leaders of agencies in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

26 Apr 2014

Enhanced recovery approach used for colorectal surgery cut hospital stays

Changes in managing patients before, during and after colorectal surgery cut hospital stays by two days and reduced readmission rates, according to researchers who led a study of the approach at Duke University Hospital.

25 Apr 2014

Report recommends that medical insurers use prescription monitoring data to reduce opioid abuse

The Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Center of Excellence at Brandeis University has issued a ground-breaking report recommending that medical insurers use prescription monitoring data to reduce the overdoses, deaths and health care costs associated with abuse of opioids and other prescription drugs.

23 Apr 2014

New painkiller, with fewer side-effects, up for FDA approval

The drug, Moxduo, allows patients to take lower doses of other painkillers. Elsewhere, a Food and Drug Administration official talks about another painkiller, Zohydro.

23 Apr 2014

First Edition: April 22, 2014

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including marketplace news about the Novartis purchase of GlaxoSmithKline's oncology unit for $14.5 billion.

22 Apr 2014

Special Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation conference to focus on issues surrounding addiction

The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation's Professionals in Residence program in collaboration with the University of Minnesota Department of Family Medicine and Community Health and the Scaife Family Foundation will host a special conference June 20-21 in Minnesota for primary health care providers to learn more about the issues surrounding addiction.

11 Apr 2014

Small financial incentives can improve people’s completion of HBV vaccination, study finds

Small financial incentives, totalling as little as £30, can dramatically increase the likelihood of people who inject drugs completing a course of hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination, according to new research published in The Lancet.

10 Apr 2014

SLU researcher receives NIH grant to study on type of opioids that lead to depression

After finding a link between chronic use of prescription-based painkillers and increase in risk of depression, Saint Louis University researcher Jeffrey Scherrer, Ph.D., has received a $391,706 NIH grant to further investigate the pattern in a wider patient base, and study the type of opioids that lead to depression.

8 Apr 2014

Treatment for opioid overdose now available for use by non-medical personnel

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first naloxone treatment specifically designed to be given by family members or caregivers to treat a person with opioid overdose.

4 Apr 2014

Study shows important parallels between epidemic of HIV/AIDS and opioid addiction

There are important parallels between the early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the current epidemic of opioid addiction - ones that could trigger a significant shift in opioid addiction prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

2 Apr 2014

New drug multiplies analgesic effect of opioids without increasing constipation

Scientists from the University of Granada have taken part, alongside the Esteve laboratory, in the development of a new drug that multiplies the analgesic effect of opioids (drugs for treating intense pain), without increasing constipation, one of the most common side-effects of these drugs, among which is morphine.

27 Mar 2014

Egalet provides business update, reports full year 2013 financial results

Egalet Corporation ("Egalet") today reported business highlights and financial results for the year ended December 31, 2013. This marks the first time that Egalet is reporting its operating results as a public company.

26 Mar 2014

Prescriptions of opioid analgesics increased during U.S. emergency department visits

George Washington University (GW) researchers report dramatic increases in prescriptions of opioid analgesics, such as Percocet, Vicodin, oxycodone and Dilaudid, during U.S. emergency department visits from 2001 to 2010.

18 Mar 2014

Orexo signs multi-year agreement with OptumRx and UnitedHealth Group

Orexo AB, the manufacturer of ZUBSOLV® (buprenorphine and naloxone) sublingual tablets (CIII), announced a multi-year agreement with UnitedHealth Group® and OptumRx® providing preferred coverage and reimbursement of ZUBSOLV®.

12 Mar 2014

New research reveals how substance abuse problems take hold in returning veterans

Of nearly 1 million veterans who receive opioids to treat painful conditions, more than half continue to consume opioids chronically or beyond 90 days, new research says. Results presented at the 30th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Pain Medicine reported on a number of factors associated with opioid discontinuation with the goal of understanding how abuse problems take hold in returning veterans.

10 Mar 2014

Prescriptions for benzodiazepines with opioid analgesics may lead to medication-related deaths

Prescriptions for benzodiazepines are rising in primary care, and their frequent combined use with opioid analgesics may be contributing to medication-related deaths, a finding that goes largely unreported, according to Stanford researchers.

7 Mar 2014

New approach to breast reconstruction surgery decreases use of postoperative opioid painkiller

A new approach to breast reconstruction surgery aimed at helping patients' bodies get back to normal more quickly cut their postoperative opioid painkiller use in half and meant a day less in the hospital on average, a Mayo Clinic study found.

4 Mar 2014

Photoreactive compounds open new routes to treatment of neurological diseases

Photoreactive compounds developed by scientists of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich directly modulate nerve-cell function, and open new routes to the treatment of neurological diseases, including chronic pain and certain types of visual impairment.

3 Mar 2014

Storytelling can help doctors recall opioid guidelines

In the fight against a nationwide prescription opioid abuse epidemic, Penn Medicine researchers are using storytelling to help doctors recall important, potentially lifesaving national guidelines on how to prescribe these medications.