http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (Medical Xpress)—According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, enough prescription painkillers were prescribed in 2010 to medicate every American adult around the clock for a month. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-prescription-drug-aimed-curbing-painkiller.html Medications Wed, 17 Apr 2013 08:56:22 EST news285407776 A new national public opinion poll commissioned by Research!America shows only 18% of respondents believe chronic pain is a major health problem, even though a majority of Americans (63%) say they know someone who experienced pain so severe that they sought prescription medicines to treat it. Chronic pain conditions affect about 100 million U.S. adults at a cost of approximately $600 billion annually in direct medical treatment costs and lost productivity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-chronic-pain-drug-addiction-major.html Medications Tue, 09 Apr 2013 11:27:57 EST news284725666 Despite efforts by law enforcement and public health officials to curb prescription drug abuse, drug-related deaths in the United States have continued to rise, the latest data show. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-deaths-tied-painkillers.html Medications Sun, 31 Mar 2013 14:10:02 EST news283956562 (Medical Xpress)—Higher mortality rates among Americans younger than 50 are responsible for much of why life expectancy is lower in the United States than most of the world's most developed nations. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-links-mortality-age-life-lagging.html Health Tue, 12 Mar 2013 17:58:12 EST news282329792 (HealthDay)—Opioid analgesics are involved in the majority of pharmaceutical-related overdose deaths, frequently involving drugs prescribed for mental health conditions, according to a research letter published in the Feb. 20 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-opioids-involved-medical-overdose-deaths.html Medications Thu, 21 Feb 2013 13:10:01 EST news280674055 Training bystanders to recognize and respond to drug overdoses can significantly reduce the number of fatalities, finds a study published in BMJ today. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-bystanders-drug-overdoses-deaths.html Health Thu, 31 Jan 2013 18:30:01 EST news278872355 Despite data on rising rates of abuse and overdoses of narcotic pain medicines across all age groups, in a new poll from the University of Michigan, most parents said they are not very concerned about misuse of these medicines by children and teens. . http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-parents-numb-misuse-narcotic-pain.html Health Wed, 23 Jan 2013 10:32:00 EST news278159488 Drug overdose was the leading cause of death among homeless adults in Boston from 2003 to 2008 and accounted for one-third of deaths among those ages 25 to 44. A study by investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP) compared rates and causes of death among those served by BHCHP with data from a similar 1997 study and found that, while drug overdose had replaced HIV as the leading cause of death, overall mortality rates had not changed. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-drug-overdose-death-homeless-adults.html Health Mon, 14 Jan 2013 16:00:01 EST news277380759 (Medical Xpress)—Giving heroin users kits with the overdose antidote naloxone is a cost-effective way to prevent overdose deaths and save lives, according to a study released this week in The Annals of Internal Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-naloxone-kits-cost-effective-overdose-deaths.html Medications Wed, 02 Jan 2013 09:40:02 EST news276340968 (Medical Xpress)—Opioid over­dose now kills more people than both AIDS and homi­cides in America and has sur­passed auto­mo­bile acci­dents as the leading cause of acci­dental death in many states. According to the Cen­ters for Dis­ease Con­trol and Pre­ven­tion, the bur­geoning epi­demic accounts for approx­i­mately 16,000 deaths per year in the U.S. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-opioid-overdose-impossible.html Medications Wed, 21 Nov 2012 08:54:23 EST news272709620 (AP)—A manufacturer of the anesthetic blamed for Michael Jackson's death said Thursday it won't sell propofol for use in U.S. executions, a setback for Missouri and other states looking for an alternative after other drug makers also objected to their products' use in lethal injections. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-drug-maker-blocks-anesthetic.html Medications Thu, 27 Sep 2012 13:58:37 EST news267973111 (HealthDay) -- Instead of reaching for a commercial medicine when your child is coughing through the night because of a common cold, Israeli researchers suggest giving honey a try. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-honey-sweet-treatment-kids-night-time.html Pediatrics Mon, 06 Aug 2012 10:49:23 EST news263468943 The prescription drug methadone is linked to over 30 percent of painkiller overdose deaths, according to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention Tuesday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-methadone-linked-percent-painkiller-overdoses.html Medications Wed, 04 Jul 2012 03:56:25 EST news260592963 (AP) -- The same anesthetic that caused the overdose death of pop star Michael Jackson is now the drug of choice for executions in Missouri, causing a stir among critics who question how the state can guarantee a drug untested for lethal injection won't cause pain and suffering for the condemned. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-missouri-opts-untested-drug.html Medications Thu, 24 May 2012 09:27:28 EST news257070380 (HealthDay) -- A new U.S. government analysis shows that more than 70 percent of people who first misuse prescription medications get those pills from their friends or relatives. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-misuse-prescription-pills-friends-family.html Medications Wed, 25 Apr 2012 18:20:01 EST news254593884 (AP) -- Sales of the nation's two most popular prescription painkillers have exploded in new parts of the country, an Associated Press analysis shows, worrying experts who say the push to relieve patients' suffering is spawning an addiction epidemic. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-painkiller-sales-soar-fuel-addiction.html Medications Thu, 05 Apr 2012 04:06:41 EST news252817592 Prison inmates frequently have a strong history of drug use and misuse, especially during the time prior to incarceration, and drugs often are the driving force behind the offense itself. New research, published in BioMed Central's newly launched open access journal Addiction Science & Clinical Practice, shows that ex-offenders struggle to remain drug free after release from prison and identifies factors that can help them succeed. Interviews with former inmates show that they themselves recognize that returning to former living environments (former friends and an easy access to drugs) is a strong trigger for drug use and overdose. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-drug-overdose-ex-prisoners-view.html Addiction Thu, 15 Mar 2012 05:14:55 EST news251007283 (HealthDay) -- Model for Acetaminophen-induced Liver Damage (MALD), a mathematical model that utilizes commonly obtained laboratory values, including overdose amount and time elapsed since overdose, is effective for predicting outcomes in patients with acute liver failure due to acetaminophen overdose, according to research published online Feb. 13 in Hepatology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-death-due-acetaminophen-overdose.html Medications Fri, 24 Feb 2012 18:40:01 EST news249309408 A new editorial released this week offers clarity and structure on confusing drug and alcohol addiction terminology for prescribers, users and regulators. "Through a glass darkly: can we improve clarity about mechanism and aims of medications in drug and alcohol treatments?" is published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, the official journal of the British Association for Psychopharmacology, published by SAGE. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-addiction-terminology.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:10:13 EST news247489805 A study from Rhode Island Hospital is the first to systematically review and analyze the literature on the association between HIV infection and overdose risk. The findings show a 74 percent greater risk of overdose among drug users if they are HIV-infected. The researchers found that reasons for the increased risk are biological and behavioral, but may also include environmental and structural factors. The study is now available online in advance of print in the journal AIDS. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-link-hiv-infection-overdose.html HIV & AIDS Mon, 12 Dec 2011 11:30:02 EST news242911192 In Britain, the popular U.S. painkiller OxyContin is considered similar to morphine and used sparingly. Vicodin isn't even licensed. And at most shops, remedies like ibuprofen are sold only in 16-pill packs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-painkillers-british.html Medications Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:58:31 EST news240166683 The number of overdose deaths from powerful painkillers more than tripled over a decade, the government reported Tuesday - a trend that a U.S. health official called an epidemic, but one that can be stopped. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-deaths-painkiller-overdose-triple-decade.html Medications Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:46:52 EST news239370400 (Medical Xpress) -- An investigative team led by Simon Fraser University health sciences professor Benedikt Fischer has established that starkly increasing prescription of strong opioids (POs) is driving up dispensation of the painkillers in Canada. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-prescription-opioids.html Health Sat, 20 Aug 2011 05:03:16 EST news233035372 While well known for relieving everyday aches and pains, few realize that when misused, acetaminophen can lead to acute liver failure and even death, often due to accidental overdose by an uninformed consumer. A new small study looked at what’s missing in consumer education about acetaminophen and how to overcome those gaps. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-thwart-acetaminophen-overdose.html Medications Tue, 03 May 2011 15:10:03 EST news223652828 Parents who give young children prescription painkillers should take extra care to make sure they give just the right amount. What they may be surprised to learn, however, is that the dose given to them by the pharmacy could be too high, according to research to be presented Saturday, April 30, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Denver. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-errors-infants-children-overdose-painkillers.html Medications Sat, 30 Apr 2011 06:07:00 EST news223362404 Unintentional overdose deaths in teens and adults have reached epidemic proportions in the U.S. In some 20 states in 2007 the number of unintentional drug poisoning deaths exceeded either motor vehicle crashes or suicides, two of the leading causes of injury death. Prescription opioid pain medications are driving this overdose epidemic. Opioid pain medications were also involved in about 36 percent of all poisoning suicides in the U.S. in 2007. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-narcotic-pain-relief-drug-overdose.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:25:20 EST news222967505 Illicit drug overdose deaths in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside dropped by 35 per cent after the establishment of Insite, North America's first supervised injection facility, according a new study by researchers at the University of British Columbia and the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-overdose-deaths-percent-vancouver-site.html HIV & AIDS Mon, 18 Apr 2011 12:30:17 EST news222348610