The use of plant materials to relieve suffering, treat illness or conduct religious ceremonies has a long history. Occasionally, the Industry News will look more closely at the history of a standard drug of interest in the toxicology industry. In the late 1920s the world
Widely heralded as the “antidote” to opioid overdoses, naloxone was first patented in New York in 1961 by scientists looking to treat constipation caused by chronic opioid use. Despite being related to morphine, naloxone has almost no painkilling properties, but researchers quickly recognized its ability
More than 43 percent of patients receiving buprenorphine for opioid addiction also receive prescriptions for other opioid painkillers during treatment, and 67 percent are prescribed opioids in the year after their treatment ends, finds a study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
New data on synthetic opioids show an alarming number of overdose deaths due to fentanyl, a synthetic opioid available both as a prescription and increasingly on the black market. Currently 18 states and the District of Columbia show increases in fentanyl overdose deaths in 2015. Between
Note: This is the second article in a series on substance abuse disorders and the issues surrounding treatment. The goal of this series to educate and inform so we can better support our clients and our communities through the opioid epidemic. Addiction is now recognized
Because the opioid epidemic is such a critical issue to both our nation and our industry, the Cordant news section is launching its first-ever series to look more in-depth at substance use disorder and its treatment options. This first article introduces this complex problem. Later
The FDA has approved a new formulation of abuse-deterrent extended-release hydrocodone called Vantrela ER (hydrocodone bitartrate). Developed by Teva, the medication is suggested for management of severe pain that requires all-day, long-term opioid treatment and for which alternative treatment options are inadequate. Concerned about the
In its recent report on leading causes of death in the United States, the CDC estimates that the number of potentially preventable deaths decreased from 2010 to 2014 for three of the five leading causes of death (cancer, stroke and heart disease). However, deaths due
Public health officials are now encouraging physicians to offer medication to treat alcohol addiction after a federally funded study found that only 20 percent of Americans with alcohol use disorder (AUD) receive any form of treatment. The medications can be used either concurrent with
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s has published its reporting requirements for physicians authorized to prescribe buprenorphine at the increased limit of 275 patients. Previously, practitioners with the appropriate waiver could only prescribe buprenorphine for up to 100 patients per year. The recently
In order to shine a spotlight on the skyrocketing numbers of opioid-related overdoses, President Obama today declared the nation’s first Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Awareness Week. Since 1999, the number of overdose deaths involving opioids, including prescription opioid pain relievers, heroin, and fentanyl, has
Newly gathered statistics show a rapid increase in the number of organs being donated from victims who died of opioid overdoses. According to data from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, 848 organ donors died of drug intoxication in 2015, a significant jump in this category