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Latest News Around the Web

FDA To Add Warnings To Gabapentin And Pregabalin About Risk Of Breathing Problems When Combined With Opioids And Certain Other Drugs

The AP (12/19, Perrone) reports the FDA announced that gabapentin and pregabalin “can cause dangerous breathing problems when combined with opioids and certain other drugs.” The agency will “add new warnings to packaging for” the drugs, which “are among the most prescribed in the U.S.”

HealthDay (12/19) reports that “the new warnings” are “based on a review of data from numerous sources, including case reports, observational studies, human trials and animal studies.” While the two gabapentinoids are approved by the FDA for “epilepsy, postherpetic neuralgia (pain following shingles), neuropathic pain associated with diabetic neuropathy, fibromyalgia, generalized anxiety disorder and restless legs syndrome,” they are also commonly prescribed off-label for “insomnia, migraine, social phobia, panic disorder, mania, bipolar disorder and alcohol withdrawal.”

Medscape (12/19, Brooks, Subscription Publication) reports Dr. Douglas Throckmorton, an FDA official, said, “Reports of gabapentinoid abuse alone, and with opioids, have emerged and there are serious consequences of this co-use, including respiratory depression and increased risk of opioid overdose death.”

MedPage Today (12/19, George) also covers the story.

Related Links:

— “FDA warns of breathing risks with popular nerve drugs, “Matthew Perrone, AP, December 19, 2019

Despite Apparent Benefits Of Buprenorphine For Opioid Addiction, Field Still Divided On Its Use In Recovery

The AP (12/18, Johnson) discusses the effectiveness of buprenorphine as a treatment for opioid addiction and withdrawal, and its surprising lack of availability at addiction treatment centers across the country. As an example “in Missouri, some treatment programs had shunned buprenorphine, particularly long-term, in favor of abstinence-based counseling and support groups.” Also, “some believed medications were a crutch that prevented true recovery.” However, “in 2017, with overdose deaths rising, Missouri tied federal grant money to a medication-first philosophy.” As such, “programs would get money only if they started clients on meds rapidly and if they dropped rules about medication time limits and attending counseling.” As a result, “medication treatment increased and more patients stayed in treatment longer.” Despite these results and others, the addiction treatment field is still divided on the benefits of its use as a sustainable recovery method.

Related Links:

— “Walk-in clinics for opioid addiction offer meds first, fast, “Carla K. Johnson, AP, December 18, 2019

Children’s Benzodiazepine Abuse, Misuse May Lead To Increased Overdose And Fatality Rates, Researchers Say

MD Magazine (12/18, Walter) reports that benzodiazepines, a class of medication used to treat anxiety, “may be misused and abused by children, leading to increased overdose and fatality rates,” researchers concluded after identifying and analyzing “national trends for pediatric benzodiazepine exposures between 2000-2015 after gathering data from 296,838 pediatric patients,” then procuring “data of benzodiazepine exposures in adolescences under the age of 18 who reported to participating US poison centers.” The findings were online Oct. 15 in the journal Clinical Toxicology.

Related Links:

— “Benzodiazepine Overdose Rates Increasing in Teens, “Kenny Walter, MD Magazine, December 18, 2019

Adolescent Girls With Anxiety Disorders May Be At Increased Risk For Eating Disorders, Study Indicates

Healio (12/18, Gramigna) reports, “Adolescent girls with anxiety disorders may be at an increased risk for eating disorders,” researchers concluded after analyzing “data for 2,406 female adolescents.” The findings of the “longitudinal cohort study” were published online Dec. 17 in the European Eating Disorders Review.

Related Links:

— “Study finds association between anxiety and eating disorders among adolescent girls, “Joe Gramigna, Healio, December 18, 2019

Small Study Examines Daily Racial Discrimination Among Black Adolescents In The US

Healio (12/17, Gramigna) reports, “Black adolescents in the United States reported more than five instances of racial discrimination daily, which led to short-term increases in depressive symptoms,” researchers concluded after surveying “101 black U.S. American adolescents to measure daily racial discrimination and 14-day depressive symptoms slopes.” The findings were published in the January-February issue of the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology.

Related Links:

— “Black adolescents may experience five daily instances of racial discrimination, “Joe Gramigna, Healio, December 17, 2019

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