From NIDA. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Epidiolex® (cannabidiol, or CBD), a medication extracted from marijuana, for the treatment of two severe pediatric seizure disorders, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome. CBD is a compound typically found in very small quantities in the marijuana plant, and it has been of interest to scientists and the […]
Treatment
Naloxone Recall—Two Lots From Hospira Recalled Due to Particulate Matter
Recall from the FDA Hospira Issues a Voluntary Nationwide Recall for Two Lots of Naloxone Hydrochloride Injection, USP, in the Carpuject™ Syringe System due to the Potential Presence of Particulate Matter Hospira, Inc., a Pfizer company, is voluntarily recalling lots 72680LL and 76510LL of Naloxone Hydrochloride Injection, USP, 0.4 mg/mL, 1 mL in 2.5 mL, […]
Surprise added benefit of an alcohol addiction medication
From Yale News Drug to Treat Alcohol Addiction Also Helps with Suppression of HIV by Ziba Kashef A medication commonly prescribed to treat alcohol use disorder also appears to help maintain or improve suppression of HIV among individuals at risk for relapse receiving HIV antiretroviral treatment, Yale researchers said. In a new study, a research […]
Opioid therapy may not always work for chronic pain
From NIH NIH study explains why opioid therapy may not always work well for chronic pain Researchers have shown that pain-induced changes in the rat brain’s opioid receptor system may explain the limited effectiveness of opioid therapy in chronic pain and may play a role in the depression that often accompanies it. These findings clearly […]
First FDA-Approved Medication for Opioid Withdrawal
From NIDA. NIDA-Supported Science Leads to First FDA-Approved Medication for Opioid Withdrawal In 2016, 115 Americans died every day from an overdose involving prescription or illicit opioids. Addiction to any drug has multiple components—altered functioning of the reward system, learned associations with drug cues that promote preoccupation and craving, and changes to prefrontal circuits necessary for proper exertion […]
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 […]
Virginia community partners team up to fight opioid crisis
From The Daily Progress. by Rebecca Kendall Vital Signs: Community partners teaming up on opioid crisis Last month, the federal government unveiled its plan to address the opioid epidemic. While our region (Charlottesville and Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, and Nelson counties) is not as severely impacted as other areas, such as Southwest Virginia, our region’s […]
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, […]
DEA to allow PAs and NPs to dispense MAT
From The Fix. DEA Increases Access to Medication-Assisted Treatment More qualified medical professionals are now allowed to prescribe buprenorphine, an opioid dependency medication. A new deregulatory measure will allow nurse practitioners and physician assistants to prescribe and dispense the opioid dependency drug buprenorphine, which will grant increased access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in areas of the country where […]