Feature Channels: Substance Abuse

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Released: 9-Dec-2019 11:15 AM EST
Regional Trends in Overdose Deaths Reveal Multiple Opioid Epidemics, According to New Study
Iowa State University

A recently published study shows the United States in the grip of several simultaneously occurring opioid epidemics, rather than just a single crisis. The epidemics came to light after the researchers analyzed county-level data on drug overdose deaths. The study highlights the importance of different policy responses to the epidemics rather than a single set of policies.

   
3-Dec-2019 12:05 PM EST
Computer Game May Help to Predict Reuse of Opioids
NYU Langone Health

A computer betting game can help predict the likelihood that someone recovering from opioid addiction will reuse the pain-relieving drugs, a new study shows.

5-Dec-2019 12:00 PM EST
A Person’s Perception of Risk Can Tell Us About Their Chances of Opioid Relapse
Rutgers University-New Brunswick

People in treatment for opioid addiction are more likely to relapse when they become more tolerant of risks, according to a study by Rutgers and other institutions. The findings can help clinicians better predict which patients are most vulnerable.

Released: 6-Dec-2019 7:00 PM EST
Co-addiction of meth and opioids hinders treatment
University of Washington School of Medicine

A study published in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment of 799 patients in three locations found that methamphetamine use was associated with more than twice the risk for dropping out of treatment for opioid-use disorder.

Released: 5-Dec-2019 3:05 PM EST
Nearly one-third of participants drop out of psychosocial substance use disorder treatments
University of Alabama at Birmingham

People who abuse cigarettes, alcohol and/or heroin are less likely to drop out of a substance use disorder treatment than those who are addicted to cocaine, according to a new study led by a researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The study found that approximately 30 percent of participants in psychosocial substance use disorder treatments do not finish the programs. This is the first time a study of this kind has been published.

Released: 5-Dec-2019 11:35 AM EST
Chronic disease prevention could ease opioid crisis
University of Georgia

Preventing chronic disease could help curb the opioid epidemic, according to research from the University of Georgia. The study is the first to examine the relationship between hospitalizations due to opioid misuse and chronic disease.

Released: 4-Dec-2019 3:30 PM EST
Safe and effective pain control after surgery for children and teens addressed by ACS and APSA
American College of Surgeons (ACS)

The pediatric surgical community recently released patient education resources to inform parents and teens about safe pain control after surgery.

Released: 3-Dec-2019 1:35 PM EST
Harvard Medical School Launches Project to Transform the Treatment of Pain
Harvard Medical School

DARPA-funded project called STOP PAIN aimed at the design of safer, more effective pain treatments Research to focus on understanding the biology of pain as a way to transform clinical care, help stem the public health crisis fueled by opioids Efforts will encompass expertise from fields including neurobiology, stem cell biology, artificial intelligence and computational and medicinal chemistry

Released: 2-Dec-2019 7:05 PM EST
Researchers Find Clue to Preventing Addiction Relapse
University of Washington School of Medicine

A study published in Neuropsychopharmacology reported that addiction relapse can be prevented by controlling cells in a brain region called the nucleus accumbens.

Released: 2-Dec-2019 2:15 PM EST
Program to address opioid prescribing for lung, head and neck cancer patients
University of Illinois Chicago

The University of Illinois at Chicago has received a grant from the Coleman Foundation to develop a screening process for prescribing opioids and managing opioid use disorders in cancer patients who receive care at UI Health, UIC’s clinical health enterprise.

Released: 2-Dec-2019 12:10 PM EST
Pot While Pregnant: UNLV Medicine Doctors Urge Caution
University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)

Daily marijuana use during pregnancy may lead to an increased risk of low birth weight, low resistance to infection, decreased oxygen levels and other negative fetal health outcomes, according to a new study from a team of UNLV Medicine doctors.

25-Nov-2019 12:05 PM EST
Study Finds Increase in Calls to U.S. Poison Control Centers for Natural Psychoactive Substances, Driven by Increase in Marijuana Exposures
Nationwide Children's Hospital

A new study conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy and the Central Ohio Poison Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital found there were more than 67,300 calls to U.S. Poison Control Centers regarding exposures to natural psychoactive substances. The study looked at calls from January 2000 through December 2017, which totaled an average of 3,743 exposures each year, or approximately 10 calls every day.

19-Nov-2019 2:05 PM EST
Online Reviews Reveal Need for Specialized Drug Treatment Facility Assessments
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

With no national standard to measure drug treatment facilities, new research reveals opportunities to learn from patients to help create metrics.

Released: 20-Nov-2019 12:10 PM EST
A new link between migraines, opioid overuse may be key to treating pain
University of Illinois Chicago

Researchers have discovered that a peptide links together migraine pain and pain induced by opioid overuse.

Released: 19-Nov-2019 4:30 PM EST
Tulane team researching ways to end opioid addiction
Tulane University

A Tulane University researcher is part of a nationwide initiative to improve treatment of chronic pain and ultimately achieve long-term recovery from opioid addiction. Michael J. Moore, professor of biomedical engineering in the Tulane School of Science and Engineering, is part of a $945 million National Institutes of Health project called the HEAL Initiative, or Helping to End Addiction Long-term Initiative.

Released: 19-Nov-2019 10:55 AM EST
FSU research: Ketamine could help men suffering from alcohol use disorder
Florida State University

Research from Florida State University is giving physicians a better understanding of ketamine, a potentially useful tool in treating depression that still has unanswered questions. A team of researchers working in the laboratory of Mohamed Kabbaj, a professor of Biomedical Sciences and Neuroscience in the College of Medicine, showed that ketamine can decrease alcohol consumption in male rats that previously had consumed high amounts of alcohol when given unrestricted access several times a week.

15-Nov-2019 11:30 AM EST
Cannabis Found Not to Be a Substitute for Opioids
McMaster University

The research team looked at all research on the effects of cannabis use on illicit opioid use during methadone maintenance therapy, which is a common treatment for opioid use disorder, and found six studies involving more than 3,600 participants.

Released: 18-Nov-2019 10:05 AM EST
Dermatologists Address Responsible Opioid Prescribing Practices in New Guidelines
American Academy of Dermatology

Recommendations suggest that opioids are not routinely needed for pain management after most dermatologic procedures, and minimizing their use helps improve patient care and safety

14-Nov-2019 11:15 AM EST
Injection drug use: not the same across Canada
Universite de Montreal

A new study by researchers at the University of Montreal shows close to 172,000 Canadians injected drugs in 2016, up from 130,000 just five years earlier, but support varies.

Released: 14-Nov-2019 2:10 PM EST
Is opioid treatment available to those who need it most?
Michigan State University

The U.S. opioid epidemic is still raging – it’s particularly pronounced in low-income areas and in those where people lack access to health care services, which includes cities in Michigan and across the Rust Belt. But the effectiveness of efforts to provide treatment and recovery options to those who need it most – that is, in locations with the greatest number of deaths from opioid overdose – has been unclear.

Released: 14-Nov-2019 1:10 PM EST
Pitt School of Dental Medicine Establishes Opioid-free Prescribing Guidelines
Health Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh

The University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine is the first in the nation to establish opioid-free pain management guidelines for the vast majority of procedures performed in all of its clinics.

Released: 14-Nov-2019 11:50 AM EST
Study Reveals Urban Hotspots of High-Schoolers' Opioid Abuse
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

A new study from researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that in several cities and counties the proportion of high-schoolers who have ever used heroin or misused prescription opioids is much higher than the national average.

11-Nov-2019 12:10 PM EST
In States Where Recreational Marijuana is Legal,Adults Use More Frequently and Teens Report Increased Problematic Use
NYU Langone Health

In States Where Recreational Marijuana is Legal, Adults Use More Frequently and Teens Report Increased Problematic Use

5-Nov-2019 12:05 AM EST
Accountability Program May Prevent Opioid Overprescribing
American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA)

Colleagues at the University of California at Irvine have developed an electronic prescription drug accountability program to keep track of prescribing among hospitalists, primary care physicians, and emergency department physicians within an institution.

Released: 5-Nov-2019 1:10 PM EST
Mind-body therapies alleviate pain in people prescribed opioids
University of Utah

A new study published Nov. 4, 2019, in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine details the first comprehensive look across the scientific literature at the role of mind-body therapies in addressing opioid-treated pain. The researchers found that certain mind-body therapies can reduce pain, as well as reduce opioid use, among patients treated with prescription opioids.

31-Oct-2019 4:30 PM EDT
Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Provides Pain Relief and More Effective Opioid Alternative in Animal Study
New York University

An international team of researchers has used nanoparticles to deliver a drug—one that previously failed in clinical trials for pain—into specific compartments of nerve cells, dramatically increasing its ability to treat pain in mice and rats. The findings are published Nov. 4 in Nature Nanotechnology.

31-Oct-2019 4:10 PM EDT
Ocean Medical Center Foundation Awarded $10,000 Major Grant from The Provident Bank Foundation
Hackensack Meridian Health

Hackensack Meridian Health Ocean Medical Center Foundation has been awarded a Major Grant in the amount of $10,000 from The Provident Bank Foundation to help improve the care and support provided to children and young adults with autism, developmental disabilities and substance abuse issues presenting in Emergency Department crisis units at Hackensack Meridian Health Ocean Medical Center and Hackensack Meridian Health Southern Ocean Medical Center.

Released: 1-Nov-2019 9:00 AM EDT
UAlbany Researcher Finds Link Between Opioid Misuse and Depression in Teen Girls
University at Albany, State University of New York

Keith Chan of UAlbany's School of Social Welfare, found that among girls ages 12-17, the misuse of opioids greatly increases the chance of having a major depressive episode.

   
29-Oct-2019 1:40 PM EDT
Eye doctors reduce opioid prescriptions without compromising pain control
Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan

Findings from Kellogg Eye Center suggest ophthalmic surgeons are prescribing more opioids than needed after eye surgery. The study in JAMA Ophthalmology showed prescriptions can be reduced without compromising pain control.

Released: 31-Oct-2019 9:30 AM EDT
Novel Research Aims to Identify New Medications for the Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder
University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing

Opioid use disorder and overdose deaths are a major public health crisis in the United States. While medication-assisted treatments for opioid use disorder exist, these treatments remain inadequate for many patients, resulting in a high rate of relapse following detoxification.

Released: 31-Oct-2019 8:30 AM EDT
Screening Tool Administered in Pediatric ER Accurately Gauges Suicide Risk
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

A suicide risk screening tool that Johns Hopkins Medicine implemented in its pediatric emergency department six years ago appears to provide an accurate gauge of which youth are most vulnerable and has identified more than 2,000 patients who might benefit from mental health treatment and resources, according to a study led by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Johns Hopkins Medicine

25-Oct-2019 10:30 AM EDT
Of All Professions, Construction Workers Most Likely to Use Opioids and Cocaine
New York University

Construction workers are more likely to use drugs than workers in other professions, finds a study by the Center for Drug Use and HIV/HCV Research (CDUHR) at NYU College of Global Public Health.

24-Oct-2019 2:25 PM EDT
Postoperative opioid prescribing and use drop significantly with no change in patient-reported pain control or satisfaction after state imposes regulations
American College of Surgeons (ACS)

A state-mandated policy restricting opioid prescriptions along with increased public awareness and education about the opioid epidemic preceded drastic reductions in opioid prescribing and use for surgical patients at the University of Vermont Medical Center.

Released: 29-Oct-2019 1:20 PM EDT
Everyone who works in health care needs to know about opioids; this free new online course can help
Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan

A new online course about opioids aims to help all types of health professionals understand the roots of the opioid epidemic, how it's affecting patients and society, and what's being done to address it.

Released: 28-Oct-2019 12:50 PM EDT
Teen marijuana use may have next-generation effects
University of Washington

A new study by the University of Washington’s Social Development Research Group shows how a parent’s use of marijuana, past or present, can influence their child's substance use and well-being.

   
21-Oct-2019 1:35 PM EDT
Sanford Burnham Prebys awarded $3.58 million NIH grant to advance potential treatment for opioid-use disorders
Sanford Burnham Prebys

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), awarded a $3.58 million grant to Sanford Burnham Prebys scientist Anthony Pinkerton, Ph.D., to advance a potential treatment for opioid-use disorders, called SBI-553.

Released: 18-Oct-2019 9:00 AM EDT
U.S. Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams, M.D., M.P.H to discuss major public health issues at ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2019
American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA)

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams, M.D., M.P.H. will speak to attendees of ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2019, the annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, about major public health issues affecting the U.S. and how physician anesthesiologists can help solve them and improve patient health through better advocacy and community engagement.

11-Oct-2019 3:05 PM EDT
Substance Use Disorder Significantly Increases Risk of Death from Heart Infection
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

Patients who suffer from infective endocarditis (IE) and struggle with substance use disorder (SUD) have a 240% increased risk of dying within 6 months to 5 years after valve surgery compared to other IE patients.

Released: 16-Oct-2019 8:00 AM EDT
Young Adults Not Seeking Treatment for Substance Use Disorders
Iowa State University

A growing number of young adults are dealing with a substance use disorder – in some cases, multiple substance use disorders – and not seeking help, according to a study led by an Iowa State University researcher. The results show two in every five young adults reported a past-year SUD.

   
Released: 11-Oct-2019 3:05 PM EDT
National focus on overdose prevention should include alcohol too, study suggests
Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan

The need to prevent and rapidly treat opioid overdoses is in the spotlight. But a new study suggests more focus is needed on the risk of alcohol overdoses among people who use opioids of all kinds, and other drugs. Ninety percent of residential recovery center patients surveyed had overdosed on alcohol at least once, and 80 percent of them said that at the time of their overdose, they had also been taking other drugs.

Released: 11-Oct-2019 1:05 PM EDT
New Opioid Prescription Dosages Drop 22 Percent in Penn Medicine’s New Jersey Practices Following Changes to State Law and Health Record Alerts
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

The total amount of opioids dispensed per new opioid prescription decreased by 22 percent in Penn Medicine outpatient practices in New Jersey after the state passed a law limiting prescriptions to a five-day supply for new opioid prescriptions. Penn Medicine implemented an electronic health record (EMR) alert, or “nudge,” to notify clinicians if that limit had been reached. The study, published online today in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, is one of the first evaluations of a state law’s impact on prescribing outcomes, and is the first report of an EMR being used to make compliance with prescribing limits easier. Importantly, after the prescribing limit and alert went into effect there was no evidence to suggest pain control worsened.

3-Oct-2019 2:50 PM EDT
Restrictive Housing Is Associated with Increased Risk of Death After Release From Prison
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

A new study led by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has found that being held in restrictive housing (i.e., solitary confinement) is associated with an increased risk of death after a person is released from prison.

Released: 30-Sep-2019 4:20 PM EDT
Brain Research: In the Same Way Addiction Sufferers Crave Substances, Their Family Members Crave Them
Texas Tech University

For people with substance use disorders, their brains tell them they must use to stay alive. Now, we know the same thing happens in the brains of the people caring for them.

Released: 26-Sep-2019 6:05 PM EDT
UCLA to Lead $25 Million Opioid Study in Rural America
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences

Scientists from the UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs will lead a $25 million National Institutes of Health study testing treatments, including the use of telemedicine, to help fight the opioid epidemic in rural America.

   
Released: 19-Sep-2019 12:05 PM EDT
How to Taper Off Opioid Medications Safely
Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

Whitney Luke, MD, a board certified pain medicine and addiction medicine specialist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, explains how to properly taper opioid medication.



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