FRIDAY, Oct. 25, 2019 (HealthDay News) — More people die from drug overdoses in the northeastern U.S. than other regions, making it a major hotbed of the nation’s opioid epidemic, a new federal report says. Fueled mainly by fentanyl and heroin, overdose (OD) deaths are soaring in an area thatContinue Reading
THURSDAY, Aug. 1, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Autopsies have uncovered new insight into how the illegal drug methamphetamine harms the heart. Preliminary findings presented Thursday at an American Heart Association meeting, in Boston, suggest that meth triggers a buildup of tough protein fibers known as collagen in the heart muscle.Continue Reading
TUESDAY, May 21, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Cannabidiol (CBD) has been receiving a lot of attention lately as a potential treatment for everything from epilepsy to anxiety. Now, researchers report it might also help curb the cravings that come with opioid addiction. Like marijuana, CBD comes from the cannabis plant.Continue Reading
MONDAY, May 6, 2019 (HealthDay News) — As if using cocaine or methamphetamines isn’t risky enough, new research shows a sharp spike in urine drug tests that are positive for those drugs and the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl. The findings could provide insight into steeply rising rates of cocaine- andContinue Reading
THURSDAY, March 21, 2019 (HealthDay News) — The number of Americans dying from overdoses of the powerful narcotic fentanyl rose 12-fold in recent years, health officials reported Thursday. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that’s hundreds of times more potent than heroin or cocaine. But sometimes drug users don’t know they’reContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, March 6, 2019 (HealthDay News) — New research uncovers more damage wrought by the opioid epidemic: Cases of a dangerous heart infection linked to injection drug use have spiked in recent years at an Ohio medical center. Researchers found that admissions for infective endocarditis at The Ohio State UniversityContinue Reading
THURSDAY, Dec. 6, 2018 (HealthDay News) — It’s not standard practice in the United States, but supervised access to medical-grade heroin may reduce the risk of harm for heroin addicts unable to kick the habit, new research suggests. This approach has been successful in other countries and should be triedContinue Reading
THURSDAY, Nov. 29, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Methamphetamine and opioid use has soared among pregnant American women, putting the health of baby and mother at risk, a new study finds. While addiction among pregnant women has dramatically increased across the country, it disproportionally affects women living in rural America, whereContinue Reading
TUESDAY, Nov. 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) — As the U.S. opioid epidemic rages unchecked, new research shows that pregnancy-related deaths due to opioid misuse more than doubled between 2007 and 2016. Deaths during or soon after pregnancy rose 34 percent during that time, and the percentage involving heroin, fentanyl orContinue Reading
TUESDAY, May 1, 2018 (HealthDay News) — People suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) might find some relief by using the popular party drug ecstasy, a small study suggests. Technically, this synthetic drug is called 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA) and it alters mood and perception. When tried with 26 veterans and firstContinue Reading
TUESDAY, Feb. 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Researchers say they are one step closer to testing a heroin vaccine in humans — in what they hope will become an additional weapon in fighting America’s opioid epidemic. Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute, in California, have developed an experimental vaccine thatContinue Reading
FRIDAY, Dec. 1, 2017 (HealthDay News) — A once-monthly injection of the opioid addiction drug buprenorphine has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “Millions of Americans are suffering from addiction to opioid drugs, and millions more are worried that the overdose epidemic could claim the lives ofContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 15, 2017 (HealthDay News) — The top two medications used to treat opioid addiction appear equally safe and effective, a new study finds. With the United States in the midst of an unprecedented opioid crisis, researchers conducted a head-to-head trial of two leading addiction treatments — naltrexone (Vivitrol)Continue Reading
Rate plateaus as doctors are urged to recommend nondrug pain treatmentsContinue Reading