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New therapeutic interventions could render addiction into manageable disease

Neuroscientists agree that abuse of drugs hijacks circuits in the brain that are crucial for decision-making, but society as a whole tends to stigmatize addicted people for lacking self-control.

10 Jun 2014

Community OOPPs can improve bystander responses to overdose of heroin

Community opioid overdose prevention programs (OOPPs)-including the use of naloxone for rapid drug reversal-can improve bystander responses to overdose of heroin and related drugs, according to a review in the June Journal of Addiction Medicine, the official journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine.

4 Jun 2014

State highlights: NYC mental health task force; Minn. seeks marijuana boss; N.C. disparities for gay community

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a new task force Monday to overhaul how New York City's corrections system treats the mentally ill -- both in jail and out -- following the grisly deaths of two inmates with psychological problems (6/2).

4 Jun 2014

First Edition: June 3, 2014

Today's headlines include coverage of Medicare data released Monday indicating that 2012 charges for some common inpatient hospital procedures dramatically increased over the previous year.

From Medtronic 3 Jun 2014

State highlights: Calif. tables immigrant health care bill; new La. hospital financing plan; Calif. insurance commissioner powers

Nearly 200 proposals were shelved in the Legislature on Friday, including controversial measures that would have provided health care coverage to people in the country illegally, imposed a tax on oil drilled from the ground and created a voluntary substance-abuse counseling program for doctors (McGreevy and Mason, 5/23).

28 May 2014

Hallucinations common suicide motive in schizophrenia patients

Hallucinations and/or delusions appear to be a common factor prompting patients with schizophrenia to attempt suicide, say researchers.

23 May 2014

State highlights: New abortion restrictions in Louisiana; aging gracefully in the Gopher State

A bill that could result in the shuttering of up to four of Louisiana's five abortion clinics overwhelmingly received full passage from the Louisiana Legislature Wednesday (May 21), and Gov. Bobby Jindal has indicated he will sign it into law. The legislation is, in part, based on a similar measure passed in Texas last year and led to the closing of several abortion clinics in that state. In its last legislative hurdle, the House concurred an amendment on Wednesday (May 21) that was added to the bill on the Senate side (Lane, 5/22).

23 May 2014

State highlights: 700 nurses needed for health care help in Calif. county; Missouri abortion wait period; nursing home funding in Maine

A selection of health policy stories from California, Missouri, Maine, Michigan, North Carolina, Texas and Georgia.

16 May 2014

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

Methadone safety: New clinical practice guideline from American Pain Society

Improved physician education and patient counseling about methadone safety and ECG monitoring to identify patients at high risk for cardiac problems will lead to safer use of the medication, according to the American Pain Society's Clinical Practice Guideline on Methadone Safety, published this week in The Journal of Pain.

26 Apr 2014

Viewpoints: Obamacare dilemma -- some people dislike the law but embrace its provisions; are health costs falling?

Polls have consistently shown that even though the public opposes Obamacare, people like some of its most significant provisions. That's particularly true of the requirement that insurers ignore preexisting conditions when signing up customers for coverage.

16 Apr 2014

Young people with epilepsy are more than twice as likely to be poisoned by medication

Children and young adults with epilepsy are more likely to suffer broken bones, burns and poisonings compared to those without the neurological disorder, new research has found.

15 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

Researcher develops novel IBT to help opioid-dependent Vermonters

Opioid dependence - addiction to heroin and prescription painkillers - has reached epidemic levels across the country, with treatment waitlists also at an all-time high.

11 Apr 2014

Novel prediction model improves patient outcomes after paracetamol-induced acute liver failure

In the UK paracetamol toxicity is the most common cause of ALF and has a high mortality rate. It is estimated that 150 to 200 deaths and 15 to 20 LTs occur as a result of poisoning each year in England and Wales.

10 Apr 2014

Risk factors for complete, attempted suicide in schizophrenia 'confirmed'

Among individuals with schizophrenia, those earliest in their illness course and those with a history of suicide attempts have the highest suicide-related mortality rates, reveals analysis of the international Ziprasidone Observational Study of Cardiac Outcomes.

9 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

Professor receives $1.7M NIH grant to explore novel treatments for chronic methamphetamine users

A Wayne State University professor recently received a nearly $1.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health to explore whether proteasome and parkin — two components of the ubiquitin-proteasome system — are potential pharmaceutical drug targets that can be manipulated to promote survival and recovery of dopaminergic terminals after binge and chronic administration of toxic doses of methamphetamine.

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