Showing posts with label Opiate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Opiate. Show all posts

Friday, December 1, 2017

Monthly injections of buprenorphine approved for opioid addiction treatment

From the American Psychiatric Association Psychiatric News Alert on 12/01/17

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Sublocade, the first once-monthly injectable buprenorphine product for the treatment of moderate-to-severe opioid use disorder (OUD) in adults who have initiated treatment with a transmucosal (absorbed through mucus membrane) buprenorphine-containing product. Sublocade is indicated for patients who have been on a stable dose of buprenorphine treatment for a minimum of seven days and is meant to be used as part of a complete treatment program that includes counseling and psychosocial support. 

For more click here.

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Social workers impacted by the opioid epidemic

From News 5 Cleveland on July 3, 2017
AKRON, Ohio - Heroin overdoses are skyrocketing across the U.S., especially here in Ohio.
Nearly half a dozen people are likely to die from the drug. And now, kids are getting their hands on it, with dangerous consequences.
Already this year, at least four Ohio children have overdosed. Three of them live in Northeast Ohio.
The first people often called when that happens? The county social worker.
"The most difficult is managing everything that is thrown at you, it's a pretty unpredictable job," said Lauren Brown, an Intake Case Worker at Summit County Child and Family Health Services.
Brown is constantly putting out fires and working with families in some of their most traumatic and vulnerable stages.
Already there this year, a two-year-old overdosed in Akron, and a one-year-old died after getting his hands on heroin.
For more click here.
Editor's note:
As people locally struggle with opiate addiction in various ways, the Republicans have considered cutting substance abuse and mental health services from their health care bill through the health insurance plan itself and through cuts to Medicaid. Instead, they propose to give further tax cuts to the very rich. Ohio is a red state that has consistently elected Republicans to office except in their cities.

Monday, July 3, 2017

Narcotic Painkiller Use Tied to Higher Risk for Depression

From Health Day on 02/20/15:
FRIDAY, Feb. 20, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- High doses of powerful narcotic painkillers appear to be linked to a higher risk of depression in patients, new research finds.
The study focuses on a class of prescription narcotic painkillers called opioids, which include drugs such as Oxycontin and Vicodin. While most people use the medicines to ease pain, widespread abuse of narcotic painkillers is also a growing concern.
The new study involved 355 patients in Texas who reported low back pain at an initial medical visit and still had the pain one and two years later.
Although the study couldn't prove cause-and-effect, people who used higher doses of narcotic painkillers to manage their pain were more likely to have an increase in depression, the researchers found.
For more click here.