Harvard to offer free online class on the opioid crisis
Harvard is launching a free online course designed to educate people about the opioid epidemic in the US. Instructors will cover the medical basics, such as how opioids are used to treat pain and how pathways in the brain can play a part in addiction. They’ll also touch on the epidemic’s legal aspects — including […]
Medication-Assisted Treatment for Adolescents in Specialty Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder
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HCV Treatment Is Effective Among People with Drug Use and/or Receiving Opioid Agonist Treatment
Many insurance payers in the US restrict access to direct-acting antivirals (DAA) for chronic hepatitis C (HCV) infection if patients have illicit substance use or are receiving opioid agonist treatment (OAT). Three phase 3 multi-center trials (the “ION” trials) evaluated the efficacy and safety of ledipasvir/sofosbuvir ± ribavirin in patients with chronic genotype 1 HCV […]
Complexities of Opioid-Induced Hyperalgesia Poorly Understood
NATIONAL HARBOR, MD — Opioid-induced hyperalgesia is among the most pressing concerns in the national discussion of opioid addiction, underscored by the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) call for clinical trials to better understand the risks, but the issue is mired in more complexities and confusion than many may even realize, an expert says.
Applying Farr’s Law to project the drug overdose mortality epidemic in the United States
A Columbia University study predicts that the projected drug overdose mortality would peak in 2016–2017 at 16.1 deaths per 100,000 population and then decline progressively until reaching 1.9 deaths per 100,000 population in 2035.
Varenicline for opioid withdrawal in patients with chronic pain: A randomized, single-blinded, placebo controlled pilot trial.
The objectives of this randomized, single-blinded, placebo-controlled pilot trial were to investigate the effects of varenicline on opioid withdrawal among chronic pain patients undergoing opioid detoxification in an interdisciplinary pain program and the feasibility of varenicline use in this population.
Low Dispositional Mindfulness Predicts Self-medication of Negative Emotion With Prescription Opioids
Although evidence is mounting that opioids are abused to self-medicate negative emotions, little is known about the traits and factors linked to opioid self-medication. From the Journal of Addiction Medicine. Read more.
Born addicted: Drug-screening pushed for pregnant women
USA Today They are the tiniest victims of the nation’s opioid epidemic, born into agony — trembling, sweating and crying inconsolably from the pain of drug withdrawal. And as their numbers soar, doctors, health officials and drug-control professionals are pushing to screen all pregnant women for substance abuse. More.
Schedules of Controlled Substances: Rescheduling of Hydrocodone Combination Products From Schedule III to Schedule II
With the issuance of this final rule, the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration reschedules hydrocodone combination products from schedule III to schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act. This scheduling action is pursuant to the Controlled Substances Act which requires that such actions be made on the record after opportunity for a hearing through […]
HIV Infection and Risk, Prevention, and Testing Behaviors Among Injecting Drug Users — National HIV Behavioral Surveillance System, 20 U.S. Cities, 2009
This report summarizes two separate analyses using unweighted data from 10,200 eligible IDUs in 20 MSAs from the second collection cycle of NHBS in 2009. Both an HIV infection analysis and a behavioral analysis were conducted. Different denominators were used in each analysis because of the order and type of exclusion criteria applied. More.
