A new study of intentional drug overdose deaths, or suicides by an overdose of a medication or drug, found an overall decline in recent years in the United States, but an increase in young people aged 15-24, older people aged 75-84, and non-Hispanic Black women, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The study… Continue reading Drug-Overdose Suicides Increasing Among Older People
Category: Addiction & Substance Overuse
Battling the Overdose Crisis
Whether it’s due to opioids, alcohol poisoning or the overconsumption of another drug, there’s a public-health crisis involving overdoses. People of all ages, from all backgrounds, are unintentionally dying from overdoses due to addiction as well as misuse or abuse of substances like opioids and alcohol. In 2017, more than 190 million prescriptions were written… Continue reading Battling the Overdose Crisis
Could Another Drug Fight Opioid Misuse?
Researchers are testing an experimental drug aimed at treating cravings associated with opioid use disorder (OUD). The trial has begun at the Clinical Center of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The research, conducted on healthy adults, will analyze the safety of the experimental compound, ANS-6637, and how it is processed in the body when… Continue reading Could Another Drug Fight Opioid Misuse?
The Pros and Cons of Using Online Support Groups for Addiction, Grief, PTSD or Eating Disorders
As we enter 2019, the Internet has ushered in a new trend of online support groups. These online communities have been a game changer for some people who struggle with addictions such as alcohol, drugs, eating disorders, PTSD, anxiety, and grief. Can people reap the same benefits from online groups as they can in ‘real… Continue reading The Pros and Cons of Using Online Support Groups for Addiction, Grief, PTSD or Eating Disorders
After Naloxone, When Can Opioid Overdose Patients Be Safely Discharged?
Naloxone has saved thousands of lives. But can patients be safely discharged from the Emergency Department (ED) just an hour after they receive the medication that curtails drug overdoses? According to the St. Paul’s Early Discharge Rule developed in 2000, that’s how long providers should observe patients after naloxone treatment, so long as their vital… Continue reading After Naloxone, When Can Opioid Overdose Patients Be Safely Discharged?
Alcohol, Not Drugs, Most Popular Among College Students
A federal survey on substance use among teens transitioning to adulthood showed that 13 percent of non-college young adults report daily, or near daily, use of marijuana. Among full-time college students, alcohol use is much more common. Those figures come from The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and its latest Monitoring the Future (MTF)… Continue reading Alcohol, Not Drugs, Most Popular Among College Students
Many Young Addicts Aren’t Getting The Treatment They Need
A majority of adolescents and young adults diagnosed with opioid use disorder are not getting the recommended medicine to treat their disease, according to a new study. The results, from Boston Medical Center’s Grayken Center for Addiction, show that only 24 percent of youths receive one of the FDA-approved medications – methadone, buprenorphine or naltrexone… Continue reading Many Young Addicts Aren’t Getting The Treatment They Need
One in Four Older Adults Prescribed a Benzodiazepine Goes on to Risky Long-Term Use
Prescriptions for sedatives known as benzodiazepines may start as well-intentioned efforts to calm anxiety, improve sleep or ease depression. But those prescriptions may lead to long-term use among one in four older adults who receive them, according to research done in 2018 by a team from the University of Michigan, VA and University of Pennsylvania.… Continue reading One in Four Older Adults Prescribed a Benzodiazepine Goes on to Risky Long-Term Use
Synthetic Cannabis May Boost Stroke Risk in Young Users
After smoking synthetic cannabis (also known as “spice” or “k2”), a young prison inmate was left permanently disabled in the absence of other risk factors. According to a news release from the British journal BMJ, the unnamed 25-year-old prison inmate was left with permanent disability in absence of other traditional risk factors. He had no… Continue reading Synthetic Cannabis May Boost Stroke Risk in Young Users
Providing Clinicians with Feedback on Their Opioid Prescribing Data Alters Future Prescribing
Asking emergency department (ED) providers to self-identify their opioid prescribing practices and then providing them with timely, clinically relevant, individualized, and actionable feedback on their actual opioid prescribing data significantly decreases future opioid prescribing among providers who underestimate their baseline prescribing. That is the finding of a study published in the May 2018 issue of… Continue reading Providing Clinicians with Feedback on Their Opioid Prescribing Data Alters Future Prescribing
A Third of Young Adults Have Ridden with an Impaired Driver
Roughly a third of recent high school graduates have ridden in a motor vehicle with a substance-impaired driver, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions. The study found that during the first two years after high school graduation, 23 percent of young adults had ridden with a… Continue reading A Third of Young Adults Have Ridden with an Impaired Driver
Mixing “Benzos” with Opiates Will Cause a Drug Pandemic in America
Leading Addiction Medicine expert Dr. Indra Cidambi, Medical Director at Center for Network Therapy, has highlighted a steep climb in the number of people taking highly addictive opiates (Morphine, Oxycodone, Heroin) while simultaneously using benzodiazepines (Xanax, Valium, Klonopin). The concurrent drug abuse resulted in a 570% increase in the number of people admitted for co-abuse… Continue reading Mixing “Benzos” with Opiates Will Cause a Drug Pandemic in America
A Simple Brochure May Help Combat the Opioid Epidemic
A straightforward patient-education brochure that explains how to dispose of unused pain pills can help battle the nation’s opioid epidemic, researchers say. Unused prescription painkillers lying around the home have proven to be a major source of drugs supplying the epidemic. Researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes Jewish Hospital, St. Louis,… Continue reading A Simple Brochure May Help Combat the Opioid Epidemic
Medicare Has Few Limits on Opioid Prescriptions
Although federal guidelines recommend restrictions of prescription opioids to Medicare patients, Medicare plans place few restrictions on the coverage of prescription opioids, according to new research from Yale. The findings were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The risk of opioid overdoses rises when individuals are prescribed opiates at high dosages. While the Centers… Continue reading Medicare Has Few Limits on Opioid Prescriptions
How to Tell if Your Teen Is Using Drugs
Prescription drugs, especially opioids, are a growing threat to the health of young people, with 6 percent of teens 12 to 17 saying they use the drugs for non-medical reasons. And in 2014, prescription drugs caused the overdose death of 1,741 young people ages 18 to 25, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.… Continue reading How to Tell if Your Teen Is Using Drugs
Preventing Prescription Drug Abuse
From the experts at SeniorHealth, a division of the National Institute on Aging, strategies on how to control potential drug abuse: Whether it’s prescription or illicit drugs, can have serious consequences, particularly for older adults. That is why prevention is key. However, there are many different reasons why people abuse drugs and become addicted to… Continue reading Preventing Prescription Drug Abuse
How Nutrition Helps Recovery from Addiction
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, drug addiction is a chronic, relapsing brain disease. It is considered a brain disease because studies have shown that drugs and alcohol physically change the structure of the brain and how the brain works. Research has shown that a majority of addicts suffer from biochemical, nutritional, and… Continue reading How Nutrition Helps Recovery from Addiction
Are You a Compulsive Online and Mobile Shopper?
Thanks to smartphones and tablets, people can access any store in the world from their beds at 2am, their offices, the beach, an airport, even in their cars in a traffic jam. Access to stuff right from the palm of our hands is a compulsive shopper’s dream! However this easy access can also become a… Continue reading Are You a Compulsive Online and Mobile Shopper?