Opioid use disorder (OUD) among Veterans is a growing problem with far-reaching consequences. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) 2018 National Health Care Survey revealed that opioid abuse has been on the rise among veterans since 2011, with an estimated one in six now battling OUD. Opioids being abused include: This alarming jump in
A heroin vaccine? It’s closer than we think. A vaccine that has been formulated to help block the effects of heroin in mice and rats in proving effective for researchers, and will pave the way for formulating a similar vaccine for humans, according to the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. Developed between researchers with the U.S.
First responders and the treatment community as a whole give communities access to some of the tools they need to battle a raging addiction epidemic, there are a lot of measures that have been proposed to keep people from ever starting drugs. While some pharmaceutical companies are becoming mired in lawsuits for making and marketing
Last week, Gov. Chris Christie signed sweeping addiction legislation into law. The legislation was meant to address the addiction epidemic that took nearly 1600 lives in his state last year. Part of the law, aimed at insurers, mandates that insurance cover up to six months of substance abuse treatment. The other portion of the law
Proove Biosciences and the Genetic Addiction Predictor Recently, a business promising genetic testing to predict opiate addiction came under scrutiny for selling what they call “genetic tests” to help predict a person’s capacity for addiction. Experts, however, say the test is not scientifically sound and could lead to discrimination for patients that really need the
A class action lawsuit, the first of its kind in the nation, lobs harrowing accusations at the makers of Suboxone, the brand name prescription drug used to help heroin addicts recover from addiction by blocking receptors in the brain. Late in November, an additional six states added themselves to the class action lawsuit accusing two
Fentanyl sales are becoming more common across the US as well as North America as a substitute for heroin and other opiates, leading to disastrous results. The medical painkiller that is 50 times stronger than heroin, which often leaves even experienced drug users in a state of overdose. Overdoses are difficult to counteract with opioid-reversing
Pain pill addiction, and specifically addiction to opioids, has become an epidemic that even the pharmaceutical industry cannot ignore. The numbers of deaths noted in a report from the Centers for Disease Control are staggering; deaths from prescription opioids have quadrupled since 1999, killing more than 28,000 people in 2014. In states disproportionately affected by
Family members and friends who have loved ones who struggle with addiction often wait in earnest for the day that the addict in their life decides that they’ve had enough. Addicts wanting help may have to hit bottom before they reach out for help, but others may find they’ve “had enough” before their lives are
