From JAMA. 2018;319(17):1819-1821. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.2844 Changes in Synthetic Opioid Involvement in Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 2010-2016 Drug overdose deaths are at unprecedented levels in the United States.1 Prescription opioids have been the most common drug involved in overdose deaths, but heroin and synthetic opioids (primarily illicit fentanyl) are increasingly implicated in overdoses.2 In addition, synthetic opioids […]
National
Study upends conventional view of opioid mechanism of action
From NIDA. NIH-funded scientists find new molecular target for developing safer pain medications. A new discovery shows that opioids used to treat pain, such as morphine and oxycodone, produce their effects by binding to receptors inside neurons, contrary to conventional wisdom that they acted only on the same surface receptors as endogenous opioids, which are […]
All of Us study to gather data from a million Americans
From NIDA. Million-Participant NIH Study Could Yield Important Insights into Addiction and Pain We are on the verge of a new era in medicine, one that truly treats the patient as an individual and as a participant in their own care. New data-gathering and analytic capabilities are enabling the kinds of massive, long-term studies needed […]
New CDC Resource for HIV & HCV
From CDC. By Corinna Dan, R.N., M.P.H., Viral Hepatitis Policy Advisor CDC has released Managing HIV and Hepatitis C Outbreaks Among People Who Inject Drugs: A Guide for State and Local Health Departments, a guide to help state and local health departments plan for an outbreak of HIV or hepatitis C among people who inject drugs. […]
Fatal Car Crashes Happen More Often Than Usual on 4/20, Study Finds
From Time by Alexandra Sifferlin April 20 is known as a popular “4/20” holiday for marijuana enthusiasts, but researchers argue that the festivities may have serious consequences, including an increased risk of fatal traffic crashes. In a research letter published Monday in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, Canadian researchers looked at 25 years of data on fatal crashes […]
Addiction experts have new tools, tough challenges
From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. by Rich Lord SAN DIEGO — After years of surging overdoses, some of the officials and medical practitioners most deeply involved in the fight against opioids have hope that they finally have the tools, the funding and the public support needed to get the epidemic under control. “I have some cautious […]
Opioid addiction is costing employers $2.6 billion a year
From MSN. A new report shows large employers spent $2.6 billion to treat opioid addiction and overdoses in 2016, an eightfold increase since 2004. More than half went to treat employees’ children. The analysis released Thursday by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation finds such spending cost companies and workers about $26 per enrollee in 2016. […]
NIH launches HEAL Initiative
From NIH. NIH launches HEAL Initiative, doubles funding to accelerate scientific solutions to stem national opioid epidemic Wednesday, April 4, 2018 Today, at the 2018 National Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit, National Institutes of Health Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., announced the launch of the HEAL (Helping to End Addiction Long-term) Initiative, an aggressive, […]
A million people out of work due to opioid addiction
From the Washington Post. Nearly 1 million people were out of the workforce because of opioid addiction in 2015, according to a study By Katie Zezima Nearly 1 million people were not working because of opioid addiction in 2015, the latest research to show that drug use is having a profound effect on the U.S. […]
E-cigarette ads associated with cigarette smoking initiation among youth
From NIDA: Science Spotlight A scientific study finds that receptivity to e-cigarette advertising increases the likelihood of trying conventional cigarettes one year later. The research was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, and the Center for Tobacco Products, U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The study […]