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Latest News Around the Web

Likelihood Of Chronic Opioid Use In Patients May Increase On Third Day Of Medication

Healio (4/25, Miller) reports, “The likelihood of chronic opioid use in patients increased with each additional day of medication supplied starting with the third day and saw sharper increases as time went on,” researchers found after studying some “1.2 million patient records randomly chosen from the IMS Lifelink+ database.” The findings were published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Related Links:

— “Risk for chronic opioid use can be triggered in as little as three days,” Shah A, et al., Healio, April 25, 2017.

College Mental Health: A Checklist for Parents

The Huffington Post has published a guide for parents preparing to send their children off to college for the first time. As stated in the article, over four million new students enroll each year, and, considering mental illnesses peak at the ages of 18-21, it’s good for parents and children to know resources and options at this critical time. The checklist includes preparation, planning, staying in touch, confronting stigma, and more.

We feel this is an important checklist and have featured it on our Links and Publications page.

Related Links:

— “College Mental Health: A Checklist for Parents,” Stephanie Pinder-Amaker, PhD, Huffington Post, March 3, 2017.

CDC Study Suggests Opioid Deaths May Be Underestimated

NBC News (4/24, Fox) reports online that opioid deaths may be higher than report because opioids suppress the immune system and can result in infection deaths, researchers suggested at a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention meeting on Monday. CDC field officer Victoria Hall found 59 examples of such cases in Minnesota’s Unexplained Death surveillance system. According to Hall, 22 of the “deaths involved toxic opioid levels.”

CNN (4/24, Scutti) reports online that Hall conceded the data could not indicate “what percent we are underestimating,” but she insisted that “we know we are missing cases.”

Related Links:

— “http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/deaths-infections-may-be-masking-opioid-deaths-n750336,” MAGGIE FOX, NBC News, April 24, 2017.

Scientists Working On Vaccines To Prevent Addicts From Getting High

According to the NBC News (4/24, Gammon) website, data from the National Institute on Drug Abuse reveal that “approximately one in seven people who try addictive substances will get hooked, and the abuse of illicit drugs costs the economy $193 billion each year in healthcare, crime prevention, and loss of productivity.” Currently, scientists “are working on vaccines that block drugs from reaching the brain, preventing addicts from getting high.”

Related Links:

— “Anti-Drug Vaccines Could Be a Game-Changer for People Battling Addiction,” KATHARINE GAMMON, NBC News, April 24, 2017.

Teens With Substance Addictions Receive Treatment At Specialized Schools

The AP (4/25, Johnson) features the stories of several teenagers who have received opioid abuse treatment at “special schools that use peer communities to support sobriety.” The piece centers on students at Hope, which offers services to 41 teenagers who have “abused marijuana, alcohol, painkillers and heroin.” Unlike other treatment facilities, Hope “embraces treatment with medication and doesn’t see it as a crutch.” The school is the subject of a study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, in which a researcher who “is studying whether kids who’ve been treated for addiction do better in recovery schools” has found some “evidence [which] shows recovery-school students are less likely to relapse than students who attend traditional schools after treatment.”

Related Links:

— “Overcoming Opioids: Special schools help teens stay clean,” CARLA K. JOHNSON, Associated Press via KWWL, April , 2017.

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