Relationship of Opioid Use and Dosage Levels to Fractures in Older Chronic Pain Patients

SpringerLink - Journal Article
Conclusions: Higher doses (≥50 mg/day) of opioids for chronic non-cancer pain were associated with a 2.00 increase in risk of fracture confirmed by medical record review. Clinicians should consider fracture risk when prescribing higher-dose opioid therapy for older adults.

Scripps research team finds stress hormone key to alcohol dependence

LA JOLLA, CA – January 25, 2010 – A team of scientists from The Scripps Research Institute has found that a specific stress hormone, the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), is key to the development and maintenance of alcohol dependence in animal models. Chemically blocking the stress factor also blocked the signs and symptoms of addiction, suggesting a potentially promising area for future drug development.

FDA Wants Drug Companies To Look For Abuse - baltimoresun.com

FDA Wants Drug Companies To Look For Abuse - baltimoresun.com
The Food and Drug Administration is calling on pharmaceutical firms to give more attention to the potential for abuse of new drugs when subjecting them to pre-market testing.

Higher opioid dose linked to overdose risk in chronic pain patients

ScienceDaily (2010-01-19) -- More Americans are taking prescribed opioids like Oxycontin long-term for chronic noncancer pain. This study sheds light on the national epidemic of opioid overdose. It is the first to explore the risk of overdose in patients prescribed opioids for chronic noncancer pain in community practice. Researchers link the risk of opioid overdose to prescription use.

Sudden death in cocaine abusers: Study reveals role played by illegal drug

ScienceDaily (2010-01-13) -- Forensic pathologists have shown that over three per cent of all sudden deaths in south-west Spain are related to the use of cocaine. They believe their findings can be extrapolated to much of the rest of Europe, indicating that cocaine use is a growing public health problem in Europe and that there is no such thing as "safe" recreational use of small amounts of the drug.

Morphine Use after Combat Injury in Iraq and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/362/2/110

Results Among the 696 patients studied, 243 received a diagnosis of PTSD and 453 did not. The use of morphine during early resuscitation and trauma care was significantly associated with a lower risk of PTSD after injury. Among the patients in whom PTSD developed, 61% received morphine; among those in whom PTSD did not develop, 76% received morphine (odds ratio, 0.47; P<0.001).> remained significant after adjustment for injury severity, age, mechanism of injury, status with respect to amputation, and selected injury-related clinical factors.

Conclusions Our findings suggest that the use of morphine during trauma care may reduce the risk of subsequent development of PTSD after serious injury.

Parkinson's patients shed light on role of reward bias in compulsive behaviors

ScienceDaily (2010-01-13) -- New research unravels the brain mechanisms that underlie the ability of a standard drug treatment for Parkinson's to elicit compulsive behaviors in some patients with the disease. The study provides fascinating new insight into the brain mechanisms that underlie a predisposition to behavioral addictions, such as pathological gambling and shopping.

Words used to describe substance-use patients can alter attitudes, contribute to stigma

ScienceDaily (2010-01-13) -- Changing the words used to describe someone struggling with alcoholism or drug addiction may significantly alter the attitudes of health care professionals, even those who specialize in addiction treatment.

New mechanism underlying cocaine addiction discovered

ScienceDaily (2010-01-07) -- Researchers have identified a key epigenetic mechanism in the brain that helps explain cocaine's addictiveness.

Technology new gateway into treatment for problem alcohol users

ScienceDaily (2010-01-05) -- Interventions for problem alcohol use can be effective in changing drinking behaviors and offers a significant public health benefit, according to new research. The study found that problem drinkers provided access to an online screener reduced their alcohol consumption by 30 percent -- or six to seven drinks weekly -- rates that are comparable to face-to-face interventions.