A new study by researchers at Drexel University’s School of Public Health suggests that abuse of prescription painkillers may be an important gateway to the use of injected drugs such as heroin, among people with a history of using both types of drugs. The study, published in the International Journal of Drug Policy, explores factors surrounding […]
Tag Archives | Opioid
Additional Trials Needed to Assess Pain Drug Safety in Children
Can we be certain that pain medications considered safe for adults based on extensive clinical data and experience are equally safe for use in young children? Pediatric pain experts discussed this question today in a panel session at the American Pain Society (APS) annual scientific meeting and agreed more short term and long-term clinical data […]
Genetic Variation Impacts Brain Opioid Receptors In Smokers
Nearly everyone who has tried to quit smoking says it is incredibly difficult, and the struggle is due in part to genetic factors. Now, a new study from the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania sheds light on how one specific genetic risk for smoking relapse may work: Some […]
Deaths And Poisonings Due To Narcotic Medication Abuse Is A National Epidemic
Unintentional overdose deaths in teens and adults have reached epidemic proportions in the U.S. In some 20 states in 2007 the number of unintentional drug poisoning deaths exceeded either motor vehicle crashes or suicides – two of the leading causes of injury death. Prescription opioid pain medications are driving this overdose epidemic. Opioid pain medications […]
Risk Of Death From Opioid Medication Overdose Related To Higher Prescription Dose
In an analysis of opioid prescription patterns and deaths, receiving higher prescribed doses is associated with an increased risk of opioid overdose death, but receiving both as-needed and regularly scheduled doses is not associated with overdose risk, according to a study in the April 6 issue of JAMA.
Opioids Are Now The Most Prescribed Class Of Medications
Two reports by addiction researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the National Institute on Drug Abuse show a drastic shift in prescribing patterns impacting the magnitude of opioid substance abuse in America. The reports, published in JAMA, recommend a comprehensive effort to reduce public health risks while improving patient care, including better […]
Many Physicians Provide Lax Monitoring Of Prescription Medications With Addiction Potential
Few primary care physicians pay adequate attention to patients taking prescription opioid drugs despite the potential for abuse, addiction, and overdose, according to a new study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. The study was published in the March 2 online edition of the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
Many Drug Addicts Get Hooked First Via Prescription Medication
If you want to know how people become addicted and why they keep using drugs, ask the people who are addicted. Thirty-one of 75 patients hospitalized for opioid detoxification told University at Buffalo physicians they first got hooked on drugs legitimately prescribed for pain. Another 24 began with a friend’s left-over prescription pills or pilfered […]
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