Tag: opioid

A technique called percutaneous peripheral nerve stimulation yields “impressive” reductions in pain scores and opioid use during the first week after common orthopedic surgery procedures, concludes a randomized clinical trial published Online First in Anesthesiology, the official peer-reviewed journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), today. The benefits of postoperative nerve stimulation were “much

When you think of ways to treat opioid use disorder, you might think methadone clinics and Narcotics Anonymous meetings. You probably don’t imagine stretches and strengthening exercises. But Anne Swisher—professor at the West Virginia University School of Medicine—is working to address opioid misuse in an unconventional way: through physical therapy. She and her colleagues have

As opioid use disorders and overdoses continue to skyrocket in the United States, a study by researchers from Syracuse University and Pennsylvania State University shows that unmarried young adults who do not have children are mostly likely to misuse opioids. The growing number of these “disconnected” young adults may also result in continued rises in

Several changes to the regulation of opioid supply in Australia come into effect today (June 1). Opioids are strong medicines used for pain. The new rules – including reducing pack sizes and restrictions around prescribing—are part of a range of changes planned for prescription opioid medicines to be phased in over the next year or

The annual cost of chronic pain in the United States is estimated to be more than $635 billion in direct medical costs, lost productivity and disability programs. One in five adults—50 million Americans—report living in chronic pain. The increasing number of patients is leading to a major push to develop non-opioid treatments for chronic pain.

U.S. Air Force veteran Herb Erne II, 76, of North Carolina, died by suicide in February 2018. On the right is the note to his wife, saying he could no longer stand the chronic pain. One woman spoke of how her mother, at 72 years old, and in pain because of degenerative bone disease, saw

Treating America’s Pain: Unintended Victims of the Opioid Crackdown, Part 1 – The Suicides The national opioid crisis propelled a crackdown on prescription painkillers, causing hundreds of doctors to abruptly reduce or completely cut off their patients’ prescriptions, leaving many among the estimated 20 million Americans who suffer from daily debilitating chronic pain to consider

New research raises the possibility that a wider group of people battling substance use disorders may benefit from a Scripps Research-developed relapse-prevention compound than previously thought. The research, published recently in the journal Learning and Memory, shows that the compound appears to be effective even if multiple drugs of abuse are involved, such as methamphetamine

Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered that ketamine works as an antidepressant at least in part by activating the brain’s opioid system. The finding overturns previously held beliefs that the drug’s antidepressant effects stemmed solely from its impact on the glutamate system. These beliefs led to the widespread use of ketamine

A questionnaire of older men and women suffering from chronic pain who were given medical marijuana found that the drug significantly reduced pain and their need for opioid painkillers, Northwell Health researchers report. The results of the study, “Older Adults’ Use of Medical Marijuana for Chronic Pain: A Multisite Community-Based Survey,” are scheduled to be

In a multicenter database study of adults who had undergone surgery for spinal deformities, researchers say that those who had used narcotics daily on average had worse outcomes, such as longer intensive care unit stays and more severe postop disability, compared with those who did not use opioids preoperatively. A report of the findings published