News Feature Channel: Drugs and Drug Abuse

Young Adults in Pain Start Using Cannabis Earlier and Are More Likely to Mix It with Alcohol

Binghamton University, State University of New York — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 19:50:35 EST

Young adults in pain start using cannabis earlier and are more likely to mix it with alcohol, according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York.

Xylazine Detected in U.S.-Mexico Border Drug Supply, Study Finds

University of California San Diego — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 11:00:00 EST

Researchers at UC San Diego have confirmed the presence of xylazine in the illicit drug supply at the U.S.-Mexico border. While xylazine remains less common in the Western U.S., border cities serve as key trafficking hubs and may have higher rates of emerging substances.

Available Evidence Supports Continuing Buprenorphine During Episodes of Acute Pain for People with Opioid Use Disorder

American College of Physicians (ACP) — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 17:00:00 EST

A systematic review analyzed research on the benefits and harms of acute pain interventions among people with opioid use disorder (OUD).

Prevention is the Strongest Antidote for Poisoning

Rutgers University-New Brunswick — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 20:45:45 EST

The NJ Poison Control Center Urges Implementing Poison Safety Practices at Home During National Poison Prevention Week

Female Sex Hormone Protects Against Opioid Misuse, Rat Study Finds

Washington University in St. Louis — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 11:00:00 EST

Male and female rats with a chronic pain condition release different amounts of dopamine when given fentanyl because of sex hormones, according to a new study from WashU Medicine. The findings might help explain why men have higher rates of opioid use and overdose deaths.

Compound Harnesses Cannabis' Pain-Relieving Properties Without Side Effects

Washington University in St. Louis — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 11:00:00 EST

Researchers at WashU Medicine and Stanford University developed a compound that relieves pain in mice but doesn't affect the brain, thereby avoiding mind-altering side effects and abuse potential. The custom-designed molecule, derived from cannabis, may provide an alternative to opioids for treating chronic pain.

Neuroscience Grads Studied How to Make Opioids Safer

Furman University — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 19:05:42 EST

Neuroscience grads studied how to make opioids safer

MD Anderson Researchers Develop Novel Antibody-Toxin Conjugate

University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 05:00:00 EST

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have developed a novel antibody-toxin conjugate (ATC) designed to stimulate immune-mediated eradication of tumors. According to preclinical results published today in Nature Cancer, the new approach combined the benefits of more well-known antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) with those of immunotherapies.

Expert briefing tomorrow: Drug Costs, Medicare Price Negotiations, PBMs, Drug Ads, and Policy Trends

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 07:30:13 EST

Co-Prescribed Stimulants, Opioids Linked to Higher Opioid Doses

Ohio State University — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 08:35:58 EST

The combination of prescribed central nervous system stimulants, such as drugs that relieve ADHD symptoms, with prescribed opioid medications is associated with a pattern of escalating opioid intake, a new study has found.

Daily Cannabis Use Linked to Public Health Burden

George Washington University — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:00:23 EST

New study suggests daily users who start in their teens at higher risk of a syndrome that causes vomiting, pain and repeated trips to the hospital.

'Deaths of Despair' More than Double in the U.S. Over Two Decades

Florida Atlantic University — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:30:31 EST

A study finds a troubling rise in 'deaths of despair' in the U.S. from 1999 to 2021, using the International Classification of Diseases. These deaths, defined by 19 underlying causes such as chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, suicide, drug overdoses, and alcohol-related conditions, increased two-and-a-half-fold over two decades. By 2021, deaths of despair would have become the fifth leading cause of death in the U.S., surpassing 176,000 fatalities, and ranking just behind heart disease, cancer, COVID-19 and accidents.

Emergency Clinicians Increase Prescriptions of Buprenorphine, Effectively Helping Patients Get Started on the Path to Recovery

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 11:00:00 EST

In the face of the alarming number of opioid-related deaths in the U.S., there have been national efforts to increase emergency clinician prescribing of buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid use disorder.

Surgeons Detail Challenges in Treating 'Tranq' Wounds Amid Philadelphia's Xylazine Crisis

The Rothman Orthopaedic Institute Foundation for Opioid Research and Education — Mon, 17 Feb 2025 08:50:24 EST

A new study examining the treatment of xylazine-associated wounds in Philadelphia sheds light on the severe medical complications and healthcare challenges caused by the widespread presence of the drug in the city's illicit supply.

New Lipid Nanoparticle Platform Delivers mRNA to the Brain Through the Blood-Brain Barrier

Mount Sinai Health System — Mon, 17 Feb 2025 05:00:00 EST

Scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have developed a lipid nanoparticle system capable of delivering messenger RNA (mRNA) to the brain via intravenous injection, a challenge that has long been limited by the protective nature of the blood-brain barrier. The findings, in mouse models and isolated human brain tissue, were published in the February 17 online issue of Nature Materials [10.1038/s41563-024-02114-5]. They demonstrate the potential of this technology to pave the way for future treatments for a wide range of conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, brain cancer, and drug addiction.

Results of Interventions to Reduce Overuse of Medical Care Not Sustained After Discontinuation

American College of Physicians (ACP) — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 17:00:00 EST

A pragmatic, cluster randomized trial evaluating the long-term effectiveness of behavioral interventions to reduce over testing and overtreatment in older adults found that the effects of the interventions did not last in the year after the intervention ended.

Rutgers Center for Recovery and Wellbeing Dedicated in Plainfield

Rutgers University-New Brunswick — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 21:25:06 EST

The Rutgers Center for Recovery and Wellbeing, in Plainfield, N.J., opens to provide hope for New Jerseyans trying to escape the cycle of substance use disorders.

Neurosurgery Submits Comment to Senate Judiciary Hearing on Controlled Substances

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 20:35:15 EST

The hearing aims to examine the public health and safety threats posed by illicit fentanyl and its analogues and to evaluate the need for permanent class-wide scheduling of these substances under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

Declining US Drug Overdose Deaths: Evidence-Based Prevention and Treatment Working

Johns Hopkins School of Nursing — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 09:45:50 EST

A new editorial in the BMJ suggests that a 22% decrease in overall U.S. drug overdose deaths over 2023/2024 signals that investments in overdose prevention and substance use disorder treatment are working.

Online Curriculum Aids Prescribers in Fighting Opioid Addiction Across Appalachia

The Rothman Orthopaedic Institute Foundation for Opioid Research and Education — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 10:20:37 EST

The Appalachian region continues to experience disproportionately higher opioid overdose rates and related fatalities. According to the most recent Center for Disease Control and Prevention, fully one-half of the 16 states with the highest overdose death rates are Appalachian states.