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In a press release issued Friday, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its approval of the first generic formulation of naloxone and said the agency will prioritize its review of other applications for generic variants of products intended to treat opioid overdose. Douglas...
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Buprenorphine and methadone are the most common medications currently used to treat opioid use disorder; both, however, are also opioids and can result in unwanted side effects. Additionally, treatment with these options often must be continued for months to prevent relapse. But an experimental...
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Conclusions from a recent study on rhesus monkeys suggest that combining opioids with marijuana may be an effective approach to reducing opioid dosage levels and attendant dependency risk while maintaining overall analgesia. The study found that cognitive impairment, including impulsivity and memory...
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With funding provided by a grant from the National Institutes for Health, a research team at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center is seeking to develop a vaccine that would stimulate the patient’s immune system to produce antibodies that would attack an ingested opioid. If successful...
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Michigan OPEN—the Opioid Prescribing Engagement Network—was founded to develop a preventive approach to the opioid epidemic in the state through a focus on reducing acute care prescribing (surgery, dentistry, emergency medicine, and trauma). Addressing opioid prescribing during the acute care period...
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Leftover medications from postsurgical pain management are a contributor to the crisis of opioid abuse, misuse, and diversion. But findings from a recent randomized clinical trial led by PAINWeek faculty member Chad Brummett, MD, suggest a possible approach to increasing the likelihood that patients...
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Findings from what the authors term “the most up-to-date and most comprehensive clinical review of endocrine effects of long-term opioid use” suggest that chronic opioid therapy may be associated with insufficient levels of testosterone and cortisol in many individuals. Author Amir Zamanipoor...
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A committee convened by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has issued a report that examines the evidence for medication-based treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) and outlines the impediments that providers and patients currently face to accessing care. The authors...
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An article in yesterday’s edition of Pain Network News summarized conclusions from a recently conducted survey of healthcare providers on the impact of the CDC prescribing guideline on their patients and their practice. The news wasn’t good. To the overall question “Has the CDC guideline improved...
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The shift away from opioid use in medication management for chronic pain has changed the dynamic of opioid prescribing in many ways. Now, more than ever, prescribers are under the microscope regarding selection of opioids and doses as well as clinical documentation and appropriate action based on...