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Podcast: KHN’s ‘What the Health?’ Reading the tea leaves in blue wave’s wake

This week, "What the Health?" panelists discuss, among other things, how the House Democrats' leadership battle could affect the congressional health policy agenda.

29 Nov 2018

First-of-its-kind undertaking to study genetic, biological factors that contribute to development of opioid use disorder

The Coriell Institute for Medical Research, Cooper University Health Care and Cooper Medical School of Rowan University (CMSRU) are launching the Camden Opioid Research Initiative (CORI), a first-of-its-kind undertaking to investigate the genetic and biological factors that contribute to the development of opioid use disorder (also referred to as opioid dependence or addiction).

29 Nov 2018

Johns Hopkins researchers report challenges in treating severe crisis pain of sickle cell disease

In a study tracking the severe crisis pain of sickle cell disease and its management in 73 adults over a period of a year, Johns Hopkins researchers found that even among those on high doses of daily at-home opioids, a persistent subset was more likely to seek emergency hospital care for crisis pain and was less likely to have the pain controlled by intensive treatment.

27 Nov 2018

Brigham investigators examine opioid use among Massachusetts adolescents, prescription trends

Opioid-related overdoses and deaths remain a major public health concern in Massachusetts, yet adolescents who experience opioid-related nonfatal overdose have been rarely studied.

13 Nov 2018

Suicidal patients with prescribed access to psychotropic drugs should be closely monitored

As prescriptions for psychotropic drugs increase, researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have found that prescribed access to anti-anxiety and anti-psychotic medications may make it easier for some patients to use the drugs in attempted suicides.

13 Nov 2018

Study: Impact of opioid epidemic on children differs by state

A new report released by the Drug Enforcement Administration finds most overdose deaths are caused by prescription drugs, including opioids.

7 Nov 2018

Study finds rapid increase in overdose deaths involving amphetamines and methamphetamines

The number of overdose deaths involving methamphetamines and amphetamines in the state of Ohio increased more than 5,000 percent over the course of eight years, according to data collected by the Ohio Alliance for Innovation in Population Health.

7 Nov 2018

Medsphere endorses SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act

Medsphere Systems Corporation, the leading provider of affordable and interoperable healthcare information technology solutions and services, today endorsed the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act signed into law by President Trump on October 24.

1 Nov 2018

New federal grant will allow Brown to expand opioid treatment in state correctional system

In 2016, the Rhode Island Department of Corrections became the first state correctional system in the U.S. to screen all incarcerated individuals for opioid use disorder and provide medications for addiction treatment for those who need it.

1 Nov 2018

Suicide risk higher among veterans released from prison

Veterans released from prison are five times as likely to attempt suicide as their peers who have never been incarcerated, report UConn Health researchers in an article slated for publication in the November 2018 print edition of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

31 Oct 2018

Cocaine overdoses on the rise with fentanyl combo flooding the market

According to the figures from Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) there has been a sharp up-rise in the cocaine overdose over the last two years. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has also said there has been an inflow of Columbian cocaine into the United States.

24 Oct 2018

Many primary care doctors are still prescribing sedative drugs for older adults

Despite years of warnings that older adults shouldn't take sedative drugs that put them at risk of injury and death, a new study reveals how many primary care doctors are still prescribing them, how often, and exactly where.

19 Oct 2018

Researchers awarded grant to advance testing of experimental heroin vaccine

Researchers at the U.S. Military HIV Research Program at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, N.Y., have been awarded a grant to advance an experimental heroin vaccine through Phase I/IIa clinical trials to assess both its safety and its efficacy against a morphine challenge.

17 Oct 2018

As U.S. suicides rates rise, Hispanics show relative immunity

The young man held the medication in his hand — and considered using it to end his life. But then he "put it down and said, ‘No. I need help,'" before heading to a Laredo, Texas, emergency room, said Kimberly Gallegos, who at the time earlier this year was a mobile crisis worker for a local mental health center.

15 Oct 2018

Rhode Island Hospital, Brown receive $800,000 grant to keep up fight against opioid epidemic

Researchers from Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital have been at the forefront of battling the opioid epidemic in Rhode Island, and a new $800,000 grant from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation will help them to keep up the fight.

15 Oct 2018

Hidden drugs and danger lurk in over-the-counter supplements, study finds

Everyone has seen the ads or the products on the shelves. A dietary supplement that promises to make consumers skinny, without dieting or exercise. Or the one that will bulk them up and turn them into the envy of other weightlifters at the gym. Not to mention the one to make them perform better in the bedroom.

12 Oct 2018

CU Denver professor receives funding to study opioid addiction treatment for chronic pain sufferers

The University of Colorado Denver and assistant psychology professor Dr. Amy Wachholtz were awarded more than $700,000 in funding by the National Institute of Health (NIH) to study treatments for chronic pain sufferers who become addicted to opioids. Recruitment is underway to enroll study patients for this clinical research.

12 Oct 2018

Black market for suboxone gives some a glimpse of recovery

Months in prison didn’t rid Daryl of his addiction to opioids. “Before I left the parking lot of the prison, I was shooting up, getting high,” he said.

9 Oct 2018

$Overconsumption of vitamin A may increase bone fracture risk$

Overconsumption of vitamin A may increase bone fracture risk

Consuming too much vitamin A may decrease bone thickness, leading to weak and fracture prone bones, according to a study published in the Journal of Endocrinology.

8 Oct 2018

Regular use of party drug GHB associated with brain changes

Scientists have discovered that regular use of the party drug GHB, and especially unconsciousness following GHB use, is associated with brain changes including negative effects on long-term memory, working memory, IQ, and higher levels of stress and anxiety.