“All Scientific Hands on Deck” to End the Opioid Crisis
By Nora Volkow (Director, NIDA) and Francis Collins (Director, NIH) In 2015, two million people had a prescription opioid use disorder and 591,000 suffered from a heroin use disorder; prescription drug misuse alone cost the nation $78.5 billion in healthcare, law enforcement, and lost productivity. But while the scope of the crisis is staggering, it […]
HHS announces over $70 million in grants to address the opioid crisis
Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, M.D., today announced the availability of over $70 million over multiple years to help communities and healthcare providers prevent opioid overdose deaths and provide treatment for opioid use disorder, of which $28 million will be dedicated for medication-assisted treatment (MAT). Read More ›
Buprenorphine for the Treatment of the Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome
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Opioid substitution treatment is linked to reduced risk of death in opioid use disorder
Deaths related to the “epidemic” of opioid use disorder are inescapable realities in communities across North America, with tags like “the American Carnage” and “this generations’ AIDS crisis” in the lay press. Prescription opioids, heroin, and, more recently, fentanyl have all contributed to a precipitous rise in deaths related to opioid overdose. Read abstract ›
Mortality risk during and after opioid substitution treatment: systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies
To compare the risk for all cause and overdose mortality in people with opioid dependence during and after substitution treatment with methadone or buprenorphine and to characterise trends in risk of mortality after initiation and cessation of treatment. Read abstract ›
Predictors of induction onto extended-release naltrexone among unemployed heroin-dependent adults
Extended-release naltrexone (XR-NTX) blocks the effects of opioids for 4 weeks; however, starting treatment can be challenging because it requires 7 to 10 days of abstinence from all opioids. In the present study we identified patient and treatment characteristics that were associated with successful induction onto XR-NTX. Read abstract ›
Relapse to opioid use disorder after inpatient treatment: Protective effect of injection naltrexone
Opioid use disorder is often treated with short term hospitalization and medically supervised withdrawal from opioids followed by counseling alone without medication assisted treatment (MAT). More evidence is needed to confirm the expectation that the rate of relapse would be high after short term inpatient treatment and withdrawal from opioids without follow-up MAT. Read abstract […]
Open-label 24-month study of injectable extended-release naltrexone (XR-NTX) in healthcare professionals with opioid dependence
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Trump Administration awards grants to states to combat opioid crisis
HHS will administer grants totaling $485 million to all 50 states Secretary Price sends letter to governors: “Through a sustained focus on people, patients, and partnerships, I am confident that together we can turn the tide on this public health crisis.” Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, M.D. today announced that HHS will soon […]
Survey of Primary Care and Mental Health Prescribers’ Perspectives on Reducing Opioid and Benzodiazepine Co-Prescribing Among Veterans
Due to the involvement of opioids and benzodiazepines in rising pharmaceutical overdoses, a reduction in coprescribing of these medications is a national priority, particularly among patients with substance use disorders and other high-risk conditions. However, little is known about primary care (PC) and mental health (MH) prescribers’ perspectives on these medications and efforts being implemented […]
