Oxycodone News and Research

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FDA grants approval of first generic naloxone nasal spray to treat opioid overdose

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today granted final approval of the first generic naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray, commonly known as Narcan, a life-saving medication that can stop or reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

22 Apr 2019

Blunting emotional component associated with pain

Chronic pain involves more than just hurting. People suffering from pain often experience sadness, depression and lethargy. That's one reason opioids can be so addictive -- they not only dampen the pain but also make people feel euphoric.

13 Mar 2019

Study explores whether Nordic countries could head towards opioid crisis like the U.S.

Addiction to prescription opioids has reached a crisis level in the United States. Now the drug is causing concern across the Atlantic. Researchers from Denmark, Norway and Sweden urge caution after discovering that prescriptions for the pain medication oxycodone have significantly increased during the last decade.

13 Mar 2019

Study finds drug interactions in ER's are common but could be prevented

In a recent Rutgers study, 38 percent of patients discharged from the emergency department had at least one drug interaction resulting from a newly prescribed medicine.

26 Feb 2019

The United States records highest drug overdose death rates

In the most comprehensive international comparison of its kind, a USC study found that the United States has the highest drug overdose death rates among a set of high-income countries.

21 Feb 2019

Rutgers study uncovers new threat in the opiate epidemic

A Rutgers study has uncovered a new threat in the opiate epidemic: Overdoses of loperamide, an over-the-counter diarrhea medication, have been steadily increasing in number and severity nationwide over five years.

4 Feb 2019

CHOP physician-researchers analyze opioid prescription patterns in children

As the opioid epidemic continues to plague the United States, physician-researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia analyzed prescription patterns in children.

29 Jan 2019

Injection of opioids may increase infective endocarditis risk

People who inject drugs are at a high risk for a number of health issues. In a new study from ICES, Lawson Health Research Institute and Western University, researchers discovered a significant rise in the risk of infective endocarditis, a serious heart infection, among Ontarians who inject drugs.

28 Jan 2019

Researchers discover extent of opioid use and abuse in head and neck cancer patients

Cancer patients are often prescribed pain medications, for example during recovery from surgical procedures. However, for many cancer patients, the use of opioid pain medications during treatment can be a gateway to misuse or addiction once treatment ends.

27 Dec 2018

Fentanyl surpasses heroin in cause of U.S. drug overdose deaths

According to a new report from health officials, Fentanyl – a synthetic opioid drug, is surpassing heroin as cause of drug overdose deaths in the United States. The report was released 12th of December 2018 in the CDC’s National Vital Statistics Report.

13 Dec 2018

Virginia Tech and UC San Diego researchers team up to develop nonopioid drug for chronic pain

Researchers from the Virginia Tech School of Neuroscience are teaming with the University of California San Diego and the U.S. National Institutes of Health to develop a drug -- now in its earliest stages -- that can treat certain types of chronic pain without the addictive consequences of opioids.

12 Dec 2018

VCU researchers test vaccine against opioid abuse

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers are testing a vaccine against opioid abuse developed by the Scripps Research Institute in California. The vaccine is meant to block the effects of heroin and fentanyl in patients with opioid use disorder.

7 Dec 2018

Study examines trends in opioids prescribed for children and adolescents

While the opioid crisis remains a major public health concern in the United States for people of all ages, relatively little research has been conducted in younger populations.

28 Nov 2018

$People with Alzheimer’s disease using strong opioids have increased risk of hip fracture$

People with Alzheimer’s disease using strong opioids have increased risk of hip fracture

People using strong painkillers, opioids, have twice the risk of hip fracture compared to non-opioid users, a new study from the University of Eastern Finland shows. The risk was highest in the first two months of opioid use.

26 Nov 2018

Congress targets misuse of hospice drugs

Hospice workers would be allowed to destroy patients’ unneeded opioids, reducing the risk that families misuse them, according to one little-noticed provision in the bipartisan opioids bill headed to President Donald Trump’s desk for his likely signature.

5 Oct 2018

Workers overdose on the job, and employers struggle to respond

Jimmy Sullivan prepared for his job as a bricklayer the same way every morning for years: injecting a shot of heroin before leaving his car.

28 Sep 2018

Scientists develop new protocol for measuring background levels of drugs in forensic labs

When crime lab chemists handle evidence that contains illegal drugs, trace amounts of those drugs are inevitably released into the laboratory environment.

27 Sep 2018

Ensysce receives award from NIDA to undertake development of opioid overdose protection platform

Ensysce Biosciences Inc. today announced receipt of Notice of Award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a four year award to undertake the pre-clinical and clinical development of the company's opioid overdose protection platform MPAR

17 Sep 2018

Nearly one in three opioid prescriptions in the US not justified, finds analysis

According to a nationwide analysis of physician visit records conducted by a team of researchers at Harvard Medical School and the RAND Corporation, nearly 30 percent of the outpatient opioid prescriptions made out in the United States do not have documented justification for their use.

12 Sep 2018

Researchers take major step forward in finding safe and non-addictive pain killer

With the support of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, scientists at Wake Forest School of Medicine have been working to find a safe, non-addictive pain killer to help fight the current opioid crisis in this country.

30 Aug 2018