Opioids News and Research

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An opioid is a chemical that works by binding to opioid receptors, which are found principally in the central nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract. The receptors in these two organ systems mediate both the beneficial effects and the side effects of opioids.

Tiam1 inhibition mitigates morphine tolerance and hyperalgesia in mouse model

Morphine and other opioids are vital to treat severe and chronic pain. However, they have two problems -; prolonged use creates morphine tolerance, where ever-increasing doses are needed for the same pain relief, and paradoxically, prolonged use also can create an extreme sensitivity to pain, called hyperalgesia.

9 Apr 2024

Immersive VR may be a useful non-medication strategy to improve cancer pain

A 10-minute virtual reality (VR) session significantly lessened pain in hospitalized patients with cancer in a recent clinical trial published by Wiley online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. Even a day later, participants experienced sustained benefits.

8 Apr 2024

More kids are dying of drug overdoses. Could pediatricians do more to help?

A 17-year-old boy with shaggy blond hair stepped onto the scale at Tri-River Family Health Center in Uxbridge, Massachusetts.

5 Apr 2024

UT Health San Antonio launches Be Well Institute for substance use research and treatment

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) is establishing the Be Well Institute on Substance Use and Related Disorders, a pioneering initiative dedicated to advancing research, education and evidence-based treatments.

3 Apr 2024

Dartmouth-led research identifies unique brain areas for emotion regulation

Ever want to scream during a particularly bad day, but then manage not to? Thank the human brain and how it regulates emotions, which can be critical for navigating everyday life.

3 Apr 2024

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

In this interview, News Medical speaks to Isaac Chiu, Ph.D and Daping Yang, Ph.D. of Harvard Medical School, about their latest research, revealing the surprising properties of pain.

2 Apr 2024

New project aims to engineer live joints for osteoarthritis treatment

About 32.5 million people in the United States and 500 million globally suffer from the degenerative joint disease known as osteoarthritis (OA), according to the Centers for Disease Control.

26 Mar 2024

A paramedic was skeptical about this Rx for stopping repeat opioid overdoses. Then he saw it help.

Fire Capt. Jesse Blaire steered his SUV through the mobile home park until he spotted the little beige house with white trim and radioed to let dispatchers know he'd arrived.

25 Mar 2024

Punitive prenatal drug laws lead to negative health outcomes

Contrary to some claims, laws that criminalize or otherwise punish drug use during pregnancy are more likely to worsen rather than improve health outcomes, according to a paper by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

18 Mar 2024

Rare condition post-orgasmic illness syndrome explored in depth

Comprehensive review synthesizes current knowledge on post-orgasmic illness syndrome (POIS), a rare condition marked by a range of symptoms following ejaculation, highlighting the need for further research to understand its causes and develop effective treatments.

17 Mar 2024

West Virginia city once battered by opioid overdoses confronts ‘fourth wave’

From 2006 through 2014, more than 81 million painkiller pills were shipped to this city and surrounding rural Cabell County.

13 Mar 2024

DNA aptamer-based sensors can accurately detect trace amounts of fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new generation of high-performance DNA aptamers and highly accurate drug sensors for cocaine and other opioids.

5 Mar 2024

Statistical models vs. front-line workers: Who knows best how to spend opioid settlement cash?

In this Gulf Coast city, addiction medicine doctor Stephen Loyd announced at a January event what he called "a game-changer" for state and local governments spending billions of dollars in opioid settlement funds.

5 Mar 2024

How a friend’s death turned Colorado teens into anti-overdose activists

Gavinn McKinney loved Nike shoes, fireworks, and sushi. He was studying Potawatomi, one of the languages of his Native American heritage.

1 Mar 2024

California hospitals, advocates seek stable funding to retain behavioral health navigators

Health providers and addiction experts warn the funding structure is unstable for a California initiative that steers patients with substance use disorder into long-term treatment after they are discharged from emergency rooms, which has already led some critical employees to leave their jobs.

1 Mar 2024

Horse sedative use among humans spreads in deadly mixture of ‘tranq’ and fentanyl

Andrew McClave Jr. loved to lift weights. The 6-foot-4-inch bartender resembled a bodybuilder and once posed for a photo flexing his muscles with former pro wrestler Hulk Hogan.

26 Feb 2024

‘Fourth wave’ of opioid epidemic crashes ashore, propelled by fentanyl and meth

The United States is knee-deep in what some experts call the opioid epidemic's "fourth wave," which is not only placing drug users at greater risk but is also complicating efforts to address the nation's drug problem.

21 Feb 2024

California prison drug overdoses surge again after early treatment success

Drug overdose deaths in California state prisons rebounded to near record levels last year even as corrections officials touted the state's intervention methods as a model for prisons and jails across the United States.

14 Feb 2024

Pain screening could improve care for youth with sickle cell disease

A recent study from researchers at University Hospitals (UH) Connor Whole Health and UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital describes a quality improvement project where pain screening procedures were embedded within an outpatient pediatric sickle cell disease (SCD) clinic.

13 Feb 2024

Reducing unnecessary testing or treatments in older patients

When a doctor ordered a routine prostate screening for an 80-year-old man -; as doctors often do -; a dramatic yellow alert popped up on the electronic health record with dire warnings.

7 Feb 2024