Sep 30 Column: Recent research sheds new light on why nicotine is so addictive By Nora D. Volkow, Scientific American Research continues to provide new insights into the reinforcing effects of nicotine, and we now know that nicotine’s insidiousness as a reinforcer goes beyond its ability to promote smoking. Continue reading
Aug 15 The year after childbirth is the deadliest for addicted women By Christine Vestal, Stateline Growing evidence suggests that women should receive continuous medical attention during what is now called the “fourth trimester” — a period lasting at least a year after childbirth. Continue reading
Aug 14 Watch 9:17 A festering opioid crisis, worn-out families and 'so much pain to process' By Jeffrey Brown, Mike Fritz In “Dopesick,” journalist and author Beth Macy takes readers to the front lines of the opioid epidemic in Roanoke, Virginia, and other nearby communities, telling the story of grieving families, exhausted medical workers and convicted heroin dealers. Jeffrey Brown reports… Continue watching
Apr 30 Watch 7:40 How an opioid addiction can eat your heart alive By Kay Colby, ideastream The pathway to deadly heart infections for people addicted to opioids often begins with a dirty needle or polluted drug. Special correspondent Kay Colby of Ideastream reports on a little-known problem with big consequences for patients and society as a… Continue watching
Mar 03 This scientist is testing a marijuana ingredient as a way to prevent relapse. It's a daunting task By Megan Thielking, STAT A neurobiologist at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York thinks cannabidiol -- one of the two main compounds plucked from the marijuana plant -- might hold the potential to curb cravings for heroin and other opioids. Continue reading
Dec 04 Deaths during opioid-driven hospital stays have quadrupled By Laura Santhanam The rate of hospitalization among white patients also doubled between 2007 and 2013 -- the “largest and fastest-growing share of hospitalizations” in recent years, according to the study published Monday in the journal Health Affairs. Continue reading
Nov 29 Watch 9:13 For this doctor, a son's recent death by overdose inspires his mission to rescue others By Miles O'Brien Dr. Jim Baker dreaded getting that call for years: his son had fatally overdosed from opioids. He had watched Max go through the downward spiral of addiction, then recover and get sober, but a hospitalization for a car crash made… Continue watching
Nov 19 Long-awaited study finds monthly Vivitrol as effective as daily pill for opioid addiction By Max Blau, STAT The finding from the largest head-to-head study to date between two leading drugs to treat opioid addiction could dramatically change prescribing habits. Continue reading
Nov 18 FDA clears electronic earpiece to block opioid withdrawal symptoms By Max Blau, STAT A wearable device claiming to block the pain of opioid withdrawal has been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration under a new expedited review process. Continue reading
Oct 11 Twitter chat: The realities of opioid addiction and recovery By Lora Strum What does addiction really look like, and what does it mean to recover? Join us for a #NewsHourChats and hear from our guests. Continue reading