Category: From Newswise – Addiction

Newswise — Buprenorphine, a life-saving medication for opioid use disorder, is far less accessible in geographic areas of the United States with racially and ethnically diverse populations than in predominantly white areas, according to a new study of pre-pandemic data led by health policy scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health published today in Journal of Addiction Medicine. 

The study is among the first to examine buprenorphine access at the local, sub-county level, and the findings point to lack of access to medications for opioid use disorder as a potential contributing reason why overdose deaths are rising most rapidly among Black Americans and Native Americans.

“The degree is rather striking,” said lead author Coleman Drake, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at Pitt Public Health. “Access is substantially better in areas that are very white. When you move to areas with even some racial or ethnic diversity, there is a large decline in the geographic availability of buprenorphine prescribers and prescription fills. In areas that are less than 95 % white, for example, there’s a 45 to 50 % drop.” 

The team examined the numbers of buprenorphine prescribers and dispensed buprenorphine prescriptions within geographic regions—ZIP codes and surrounding areas within a 30-minute drive—in 2018.

The more ethnically and racially diverse ZIP codes had 45% to 55% fewer buprenorphine prescribers in urban areas and 62% to 79% fewer prescribers in rural areas. Dispensed prescriptions reflected these inequities, as well, with 51% to 76% fewer dispensed in diverse urban areas and 68% to 87% fewer in diverse rural areas. 

Unfortunately, said Drake, efforts leading up to 2018 to increase the number of buprenorphine prescribers have not resulted in equitable access to this treatment. Addressing these disparities will require a two-fold strategy: increasing the number of buprenorphine prescribers in diverse communities and, particularly in urban areas, promoting increased prescribing among those already prescribing the treatment, he said.  Additional studies are also needed to determine how more recent changes in provider requirements for prescribing buprenorphine, as well as an increase in telehealth flexibilities, have impacted these health disparities.

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About the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health 

Founded in 1948, the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health is a top-ranked institution of seven academic departments partnering with stakeholders locally and globally to create, implement and disseminate innovative public health research and practice. With hands-on and high-tech instruction, Pitt Public Health trains a diverse community of students to become public health leaders who counter persistent population health problems and inequities. 

Newswise — Scientists have long thought of the fluid-filled sac around our lungs merely as a cushion from external damage. Turns out, it also houses potent virus-eating cells that rush into the lungs during flu infections.

Not to be confused with phages, which are viruses that infect bacteria, these cells are macrophages, immune cells produced in the body. 

“The name macrophage means ‘big eater.’ They gobble up bacteria, viruses, cancer cells, and dying cells. Really, anything that looks foreign, they take it up and destroy it,” said UC Riverside virologist Juliet Morrison, who led the discovery team. “We were surprised to find them in the lungs because nobody has seen this before, that these cells go into the lung when there’s an infection.”

A paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences details how during an influenza infection, macrophages leave the exterior cavity and cross into the lungs where they decrease inflammation and reduce levels of disease. 

“This study shows it’s not just what happens in the lung that matters, but also what’s outside of the lung. Cell types not normally connected to the lung can have outsized impacts on lung disease and health,” Morrison said. 

There are three main cavities in the body: one around the heart, the abdominal cavity, and the pleural cavity surrounding the lungs. “Because it contains fluid, it prevents the lungs from collapsing. However, people have not thought much about the pleural cavity being a whole organ within itself. This research may change that perception,” Morrison said.

Initially, the researchers set out to understand the more general question of what types of cells are present in the lungs during flu infections. They took existing data on lung-related genes from studies of mice that either died from the flu or survived. They then mined the data using an algorithm to predict cell types that change in the lungs during infections. 

“We took big data and broke it down to assign which potential immune cells are in the lung tissues. That’s where I got a hint that maybe we had a previously unknown external source of cells in the lung,” Morrison said. 

Next, using a laser-based technique, the team tracked macrophages going into the lungs of mice, and observed what happened if they took these cells out of the equation. “When you take them out of the mouse you see more disease and more lung inflammation,” Morrison said. 

Morrison says she hopes this study will encourage other scientists to reevaluate data sets from older studies. “Our approach was to take information already out there and put it to new use, and we were able to see something new,” she said. 

Moving forward, the research team is hoping to determine which proteins “tell” the macrophages to move into the lungs. Once the protein signals have been identified, it may be possible to create drugs that boost either the number of macrophages, or their activity.

The strategy of boosting human defenses to infection, rather than developing another antiviral, could offer people a flu treatment that would be more effective for much longer. Morrison became interested in host therapeutics because antibiotic and antiviral resistance to drugs is a growing problem.

This problem occurs when germs like bacteria and fungi develop the ability to defeat the drugs designed to kill them. Misuse and overuse of the drugs is accelerating the problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 2.8 million drug-resistant infections occur each year in the U.S., and more than 35,000 people die as a result. 

“If we can boost what resolves infection in us, we probably have a better shot. We’re less likely to have resistance. The immune system is so complicated, but it’s our best bet in the long run to work with what we have rather than chase viruses that continue to escape our therapeutics,” Morrison said. 

Newswise — A new study by Flinders University has uncovered links between a patient’s initial diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder, or BPD, and their recurrent visits to hospital.

The study investigated associations between patients with BPD and their hospital presentations as well as the effect of inpatient length of stay on time to hospital re-presentation. 

The study reviewed a South Australian (SA) cohort of 86,740 Emergency Department (ED) and inpatient episodes of care for 25,619 mental patients presenting to SA public hospitals between 2014 and 2019.

Patients with BPD were at higher risk of returning to hospital when compared to patients with any other type of mental disorder says lead author Dr David Smith from the College of Medicine and Public Health.

BPD is the most common personality disorder in Australia, affecting up to 5 per cent of the population at some stage.  It is a complex mental disorder that is often misunderstood. 

BPD patients frequently present with other co-occurring problems, including substance abuse, depression, anxiety, and bipolar affective disorder.  Furthermore, BPD is associated with considerable psychosocial impairment, including poor social functioning, unemployment, and loss of income.

Worryingly BPD patients have high rates of self-harm and suicide, leading to frequent presentations to emergency departments and mental health services with a reported mortality rate of up to 10 per cent.

“We found that approximately four per cent of all mental health patients were discharged from an Emergency Department (ED) or inpatient admission with a diagnosis of BPD recorded as the primary discharge diagnosis. Those patients were then at higher risk of hospital re-admission compared to other mental health diagnostic groups in this study cohort,” says Dr Smith.

“Of particular interest is the association between initial inpatient length of stay in hospital and the number of days before they sought hospital treatment again.

“Those patients whose initial stay in hospital was up to 14 days returned to hospital on average 58 days sooner than those patients who stayed for two days or less,” he says.

Dr Smith says that further research, such as a more detailed pathway analysis, could determine factors that predicted whether, for BPD, any overnight stay and stays of less or greater than two days were associated with harm or benefit.

“There is no doubt that more needs to be done to provide better healthcare pathways for patients with BPD.  We need to get more accurate recordings of BPD patients, and related presentations, more in-depth investigations of care pathways, and identifications of individuals who may benefit from a specific inpatient length of stay.

“We’d like to trace the patient’s journey in hospital from the patient’s perspective that would allow clinicians and managers to see and understand patients’ experience by separating the management of a specific psychiatric condition and treatment into a series of consecutive events or steps (for example, activities, interventions, or staff interactions). 

“This approach would also need to address BPD-related questions about sex and gender, such as how do sex and gender intersect with age, race and ethnicity, and other sociocultural factors as well as determine outcomes.

“The synthesis of this type of information with data, such as from the current study, would provide deeper insights into patient journeys, including when things went right and when they did not,” says Dr Smith.

“We believe that building on existing resources would improve health and community-based services and staff training, and not only boost the health and wellbeing of all Australians but significantly contribute to a reduction in emergency department presentations and hospital admissions,” Dr Smith adds.

Newswise — A new, cutting-edge study from the University of Ottawa (uOttawa) has found vanoxerine, a drug initially developed for the treatment of cocaine addiction, could impede advanced colorectal cancer stem cells by essentially re-wiring critical gene networks.

This new research published in Nature Cancer led by Dr. Yannick Benoit, Principal Investigator and Associate Professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine (Faculty of Medicine) at uOttawa, has revealed that vanoxerine plays an entirely unexpected mechanism in cancer. The investigators observed that vanoxerine packs a powerful punch when suppressing cancer stem cell activity in colon cancer patients’ tissues and in tumours implanted in laboratory animals. It interferes with a protein that transports dopamine, the brain chemical involved in sensations of pleasure and reward, and represses an enzyme dubbed G9a in colorectal tumours.

“Notably, the tumours treated with vanoxerine become more susceptible to attack by the immune system due to the reactivation of ancient viral DNA fragments accumulated in our genome throughout evolution. This finding is quite significant, considering that colorectal tumours tend to show poor response to standard immunotherapy,” says Dr. Benoit, who was one of six national winners of the Gairdner Foundation’s 2022 Early Career Investigator competition.

A silent killer

Colorectal cancer – when cells grow and divide uncontrollably in the colon or rectum – is the world’s second leading cause of cancer-related deaths and is considered a “silent cancer” since it typically doesn’t cause symptoms during early stages. While the risks increase with age, new statistics show an alarming increase among younger adults.

Because it’s frequently diagnosed at advanced stages when treatment options are few, it is imperative to discover new methods of beating back colorectal cancer cells and tumours. When seeking a drug safely tested in patients, the most promising option turned out to be vanoxerine, a dopamine reuptake inhibitor.

The research team observed such minimal toxicity from vanoxerine treatments when testing in healthy human and mouse tissues that Dr. Benoit says their work potentially floats “a safe way to eliminate cancer stem cells in colorectal tumours without harming the ‘good stem cells’ in the body’s organs.”

New and promising treatment

While prevention and early detection remain the best weapons against colorectal cancer, these highly compelling findings may pave the way for a new and promising treatment option for patients struggling with advanced disease.

“For those unfortunate people diagnosed with advanced and aggressive forms of colorectal cancer, we profoundly hope our work can lead to the development of powerful options for treatment in the future and substantially increase their survival chances,” says Dr. Benoit.

Roots of collaboration

The study was strongly collaborative, benefitting from expertise across the uOttawa Faculty of Medicine’s broad research ecosystem.

The first author is Christopher Bergin, a recent PhD graduate from Dr. Benoit’s lab who methodically tested vanoxerine for its anti-cancer stem cell properties in patient-derived organoids. Dr. Rebecca Auer, scientific director of The Ottawa Hospital’s Cancer Therapeutics Program, provided access to colorectal cancer patients’ tissues. Dr. Mario Tiberi and Dr. Michele Ardolino provided critical insights and expertise.

While working on this study, Dr. Benoit’s lab hosted Dr. Tanguy Fenouil, a gastrointestinal pathologist from France whose collaborative work was key.

People worldwide are living longer.  According to the World Health Organization, 1 in 6 people in the world will be aged 60 years or over by 2030.  By 2050, the world’s population of people aged 60 years and older will double (2.1 billion). The number of individuals aged 65 years or above across the world will be twice the number of children under age 5 by the year 2050. That makes this population one of the fastest-growing groups in the world.

Below are some of the latest research and features on this growing population of older adults in the Seniors channel on Newswise.

Older adults rely more on trust in decision making. It could open them up to scams.

-University of Florida

Language barriers could contribute to higher aggression in people with dementia

-Edith Cowan University

Sexually transmitted infections among older adults pose a global public health challenge

-University of Oslo

Experts Comment on Aiming for a Romantic Relationship at Any Stage of Life

-University of New Hampshire

Third Major Study Finds Evidence that Daily Multivitamin Supplements Improve Memory and Slow Cognitive Aging in Older Adults

-Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Smartphone app could help prevent falls in older adults

-Binghamton University, State University of New York

Adults With Cognitive Disabilities Are More Likely to Have Worse Experiences With Health Care System

-Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research at Rutgers University

Caring for LGBTQ+ nursing home residents in culturally appropriate and inclusive ways

-Regenstrief Institute

Following a Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of cognitive decline in older people

-University of Barcelona

Infection with common cat-borne parasite associated with frailty in older adults

-University of Colorado Boulder

Gambling disorders expert and UCLA psychiatrist says every state has seen increased demand for treatment services related to gambling problems since 2018 

In addition to very likely being one of the most-viewed sporting events in the world, Super Bowl LVIII is expected to be one of the largest sports betting events in U.S. history, with tens of millions of Americans expected to wager billions of dollars on Sunday’s matchup. But experts say the advent and rapid expansion of legalized, online sports betting has led to an unprecedented accessibility to gambling and the problems that can arise from it. 

The American Gaming Association, a gambling industry organization, estimated this week that a record 67.8 million American adults will bet on the matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers – a 35% increase from last year’s Super Bowl. About $23.1 billion in wagers – including traditional wagers and casual bets among friends and family — are expected to be placed, up from the estimated $16 billion last year, according to the association. 

So far, 38 states and Washington, D.C., have adopted a legalized sports betting market since 2018, though some are limited to in-person betting only. For the remaining states, including California, sports gambling of any kind, whether online or in-person, remains illegal, though that could soon change in some states. The Georgia Legislature is currently debating a bill to legalize sports betting, which could take effect as soon as 2025.  

Dr. Timothy Fong, a UCLA Health psychiatrist and co-director of the UCLA Gambling Studies Program, was asked to explain how the paradigm shift in sports betting has impacted gambling disorders in the U.S. and why so many people place wagers during the Super Bowl.   

Q: Big sporting events such as the Super Bowl have always attracted gambling, but how has the rise of sports betting apps and services changed the prevalence and accessibility of sports betting, especially in recent years? 

Dr. Fong: Since 2018, access to sports betting has exploded exponentially. There are regulated and unregulated applications and websites opening up constantly, making it nearly impossible to keep up with the different gambling options. The end result is access 24/7 to sports betting, in every state in America. Having unprecedented and nearly unlimited access to sports betting transforms gambling into a commonplace and embedded activity that is part of daily American life. It is no longer in the shadows or hidden away – it’s ubiquitous.    

Q: How does sports gambling differ from other types of gambling such as online poker or a traditional casino?  

Dr. Fong: There are many, many more different types of wagers and bets that can be placed on sports than traditional casino games. They don’t require any human interaction or dealers to be placed. Now, with the advent of artificial intelligence and big gambling data, there are different types of bets that can be offered every few seconds while watching games in real time. Sports betting offers up a wider variety of bets that can appeal to any personality and gambling preferences.   

Q: What makes the Super Bowl stand out from other sporting events in the sports betting world? 

Dr. Fong: Every year, the Super Bowl is the most watched sporting event in the world. It has become a global phenomenon, highlighting many aspects of the leading edge of popular culture. Its growth in popularity is also tied to gambling as it is the single most wagered-on sporting event every year and growing. The Super Bowl has become more than just a sporting event, it’s become a national tradition that’s more about connecting with family and friends, eating, gambling, entertainment and being part of a communal event. 

Q: How has the popularity of sports betting changed since the U.S. Supreme Court opened the door to legalized sports betting in 2018? Has this resulted in an increase in gambling addiction cases? 

Dr. Fong: Since 2018, sports betting has grown into a massive industry, even though it is not yet legally available in all 50 states. Much of the growth has been in the online betting platforms that offer a dizzying number of wagers that change minute-to-minute. Fueled by new partnerships (professional sport leagues, online influencers, traditional media outlets), fast regulations put out by state legislatures and aggressive advertising and marketing campaigns, sports betting has become so commonplace that it is now considered a part of the American entertainment menu. This rise in acceptability and the promotion of sports betting has naturally led to increased participation by the general public. Nearly every state in the United States has seen increased demand for treatment services related to problems cause by gambling and several statewide surveys have shown increased numbers in the incidence and prevalence of gambling disorder. 

Q: What are some of the early warning signs that someone is starting to develop an unhealthy gambling habit? 

Dr. Fong: Gambling disorder is an addictive disorder that is characterized by continued gambling despite harmful consequences. Not every case presents the same way but, typically, early signs of an unhealthy or problematic relationship with gambling include preoccupation with gambling, not being able to cut down or stop gambling, gambling repeatedly beyond one’s means or budgets, borrowing money to finance gambling or chasing after losses by gambling more.  

Like any other addictive disorder, gambling disorder can also impact sleep, worsen physical conditions through emotional stress and exacerbate mental health conditions like depression or anxiety disorders. 

Q: Can sports betting be a “gateway drug” into developing other gambling addictions? 

Dr. Fong: There is no current evidence to suggest that sports betting will lead to other types of betting or increase a person’s risk of developing gambling disorder. In many cases of individuals who enter treatment for gambling disorder, they report engaging in multiple types of gambling, not just sports betting but oftentimes three to four types of gambling at the same time. 

Q: What are the clinical reasons why people gamble and form gambling addictions? How does brain activity change when a person is gambling? 

Dr. Fong: There are clear risk factors to developing gambling disorder including family history of gambling disorder, starting to gamble at a young age, gambling with high frequency, access to gambling along with access to money to gamble with, and the presence of active mental health conditions like depression, ADHD or substance use disorder. Gambling disorder has biopsychosocial risk factors just like substance use disorders.  

Gambling has been shown to activate the same brain regions that are activated during the process of using substances that are highly rewarding. When gambling (or even before gambling), the brain activates the natural reward system and all of the accompanying brain systems that are responsible for positive and negative emotions, excitement, anxiety, reward, hope, attention and more. Men and women with gambling disorder have been shown to have differences in brain activity as compared to those without the disorder. 

Q: Is there a “healthy” way to gamble? 

Dr. Fong: Gambling is part of the human condition and taking risks and learning to deal with losses is a normative part of life. Recreational gambling does not create harmful consequences to the individual, the family or to the community. Gambling, when viewed as another form of entertainment to which money spent is considered part of the experience, can lead to social connection and enjoyment. A generally accepted guideline to keep gambling in the social and recreational category is to ask: “Is gambling making my quality of life better or worse?” 

BOTTOM LINE 

If you are concerned or want to know more about your gambling behavior or the gambling behavior of a family member, call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit the UCLA Gambling Studies Program.  

Newswise — Reducing homelessness by 25% could save almost 2,000 lives lost to opioid overdoses, according to new research from the University of Georgia.

Published by Health Affairs, the study is the first to suggest that increased homelessness likely causes increased overdose deaths from drugs and alcohol.

The researchers also found that reducing homelessness by a quarter could save 850 lives from alcohol poisoning and 540 from cocaine overdoses. (Due to the nature of addiction, some of these lost lives may overlap.)

“One of the frustrations for people who study and recommend policy changes is that homelessness and the opioid crisis are persistent,” said David Bradford, co-author of the study and a professor in UGA’s School of Public and International Affairs. “Our study shows that there is a causal effect. Homelessness is making the opioid crisis worse.”

However, strengthening social safety nets and increasing housing security could help curb growing deaths from drug and alcohol poisoning.

Homeless, overdose death counts likely higher now due to pandemic

The researchers analyzed Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) data on the number of homeless individuals in the U.S. from 2007 through 2017 and compared it with death certificates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that attributed deaths to alcohol poisoning or drug overdose. 

The researchers found that even a small decrease in homelessness could save lives. For example, even a 10% decrease in homelessness could save more than 650 people from dying by an opioid overdose. 

“That’s a lot of lives,” said Felipe Lozano-Rojas, co-author of the study and an assistant professor in the School of Public and International Affairs. “Deaths from opioids used to be a rare event, but it has become increasingly prevalent.”

The pandemic hasn’t helped. With the end of the eviction moratorium in 2021, evictions have skyrocketed in the past few years. Almost 200,000 more individuals were unhoused in HUD’s 2023 data than the last year of the study period.

And that increase in homelessness is likely to lead to an increase in accidental drug and alcohol deaths, according to the researchers.

“The increase in homelessness that we’ve seen since COVID-19 is probably a significant factor in the increase in opioid-related deaths we’ve seen since COVID started,” Bradford said. “If you want to make progress fighting the opioid epidemic, tackling homelessness is one route to do that.”

Addressing homelessness first may curb addiction

Preliminary evidence from other studies suggests taking a housing first approach to the dual pandemic of homelessness and opioid addiction may help, according to the researchers. 

That would mean focusing on keeping people in their homes first and addressing any addiction issues second. 

For example, a previous study from Bradford and Ashley Bradford of Georgia Tech found that higher eviction rates were linked to higher rates of drug and alcohol deaths at the county level. Fewer evictions could mean fewer overdose deaths.

But solving the homeless and opioid crises is not as simple as just banning evictions. Landlords have to get paid. A tweak to current housing policies could help, though.

The researchers said something as simple as preventing evictions from happening through small claims court can help keep people in their homes, as can prohibiting retaliatory actions from landlords when their tenants report housing law violations.

“It took us decades to get into this problem, and it will take decades to get out of it,” Bradford said. “What I hope people can take away from studies like ours is that we need pragmatic policies that aren’t puritanical or judgmental. We need to invest in these people who need help. 

“If you give them a chance, they’ll surprise you, and they’ll do well.”

The study was published by Health Affairs and is available here.

BYLINE: Carlos José Pérez Sámano

Newswise — For 20 years, Laura Stewart, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Kinesiology, Nutrition and Dietetics, at the University of Northern Colorado, has been exploring how exercise improves the immune system. Over the last decade, however, her interests shifted to focus on the relationship between cannabidiol (CBD) and immune function. It’s a topic that fascinates the scientist, as she has found that there is a big difference between what the public understands about cannabis (marijuana) and CBD, and what science has proven.     

“Although companies that sell products with claims about any cannabis component should be supported by research, there is a lot of information that is shared by the general public on social media that is far from what actual research has found,” said Stewart. 

Stewart chose to focus her research on components of the cannabis plant and its impact on the immune system shortly after moving to Colorado in 2014, the same year recreational marijuana use became legal in the state.  

CBD or cannabidiol, is the second most studied ingredient in cannabis after tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). According to an article in Harvard Health Publishing, CBD is an essential component of medical marijuana, and it can also be derived from the hemp plant or manufactured in a laboratory. As of 2018, Congress made hemp legal in all 50 states, and consequently, CBD derived from hemp is also legal.  

“A lot of the information that users share is not scientifically proven. People talk about their anecdotal responses with the use of it [CBD] and, unfortunately, a lot of this content is getting people to try things and pay for things that we have zero amount of research behind.”

– Laura Stewart

According to Peter Grinspoon, MD, cannabis specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital, the strongest scientific evidence about the health benefits of CBD has been found in the treatment of childhood epilepsy syndromes such as Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Animal studies and self-reports or research in humans also show that CBD can be useful for anxiety, insomnia, chronic and neuropathic pain.  

However, the claims about what CBD can do in terms of improving general health is where Stewart sees most of the misinformation, for what she sees as two primary reasons. On one hand, most of the marketing claims around benefits of cannabis consumption are not backed by science. And if there is research behind those claims, the regulations on how to present them are very minimal. The second reason for people having an exaggerated idea of the benefits of cannabis consumption is the unregulated public opinion on the matter.   

“All kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds are recommending people to use CBD for a variety of reasons on all types of social media. And those opinions are unregulated because we are talking about people’s right to free speech,” said Stewart. 

“However, a lot of the information that users share is not scientifically proven. People talk about their anecdotal responses with the use of it and, unfortunately, a lot of this content is getting people to try things and pay for things that we have zero amount of research behind,” the researcher continued. 

A 2018 report from the World Health Organization states that there are numerous CBD products —including medicinal products, such as pills and capsules for various diseases/symptoms, lotions, oils, foods, drinks, shampoos, cosmetics, etc. – that are being manufactured and distributed without regulatory oversight and often with unverified contents. 

With two decades of experience investigating the impact of exercise and botanicals on the immune system, Stewart began to examine the impact of both cannabis and CBD on the immune system.  

Her first studies conducted between 2016 and 2019 examined how cannabis impacted the immune system for users and non-users, specifically as it relates to exercise performance.  

“We surveyed people who are physically active and then we moved more into some cross-sectional studies that explored the potential differences between cannabis users and non-users when it came to their health and fitness,” said Stewart. “In those projects, we looked at males and females separately and evaluated basic health measures like blood pressure, heart rate and body composition.” 

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RELATED: Biological Sciences Master’s Student Research Could Lead to Improvements in Liver Disease Outcomes

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In general, Stewart said there weren’t many differences between the cannabis and the non-cannabis users in both young males and females except for power tests. Power tests consist of going as fast as possible on a lab bike for 30 seconds. Stewart’s findings indicated that some cannabis users couldn’t maintain as much power as non-users. In other words, the use of cannabis adversely affected power. Since the population surveyed was small, Stewart said the results weren’t statistically significant, but it was an interesting factor to be considered by coaches, athletes and the general population.  

“The next study, which started in 2021, involved a clinical trial which involved daily CBD consumption for 8 weeks. We saw some potential for natural killer cells, which are part of the immune system. We saw that they might be potentially enhanced in their ability to kill cancer cells,” said Stewart. “We also found some interesting differences between groups in their ability to feel awake after sleeping.”   

In her most recent study, Stewart examined the potential effect of CBD on healthy people. The UNC researcher was contacted by a global beverage company to evaluate the potential impacts of regular CBD consumption on general health.  

“The brand had the intention to launch a drink with some CBD, so they contacted us to conduct a clinical trial before moving forward with it,” said Stewart. “They wanted to evaluate whether CBD had any effect on aspects of physical health, mental health, cognitive and focus ability.”   

Stewart’s research found that the daily use of CBD for eight weeks in healthy individuals didn’t affect any of the physical and mental health indicators she was measuring.  

These nine years’ worth of work have not only resulted in new findings for each study, but they also helped to create more internal and external partnerships. With the support of the College of Natural and Health Sciences’ dean, Kamel Haddad, UNC established a brand new Complementary Health and Integrative Physiology Center (CHIPC) on campus last year. This center will help to further research cannabis and other natural substances and their impact on health and to create collaboration between academia and private companies. A future study that will come from this center includes partnering with a pharmaceutical grade CBD company to evaluate the impact of this substance on veterans. 

“CHIPC epitomizes two of our college’s priorities: Innovation in the science of health care; and connecting with our regional STEM partners,” said Haddad. “I am thrilled that the launch of NHS’s newest center has already delivered on these two priorities.” 

“Cannabis is a very interesting plant, and we are still finding a lot more about its potential to impact mental and physical health,” said Stewart. “I am very excited to share this news with the general public and my commitment to further research in the area.”

The flu, caused by influenza viruses, triggers acute respiratory infections worldwide. While winter unleashes seasonal epidemics in temperate climates, tropical regions face year-round outbreaks, making influenza a year-round threat. Stay informed! Below are some of the latest news and expert commentary on Ifluenza, brought to you by Newswise.

Expert shares advice for parents navigating pediatric influenza, COVID-19, and RSV this winter

-Virginia Tech

Spike in Influenza, COVID-19, and Other Respiratory Illnesses Can Lead to Rise in Cardiovascular Complications

-Mount Sinai Health System

Study sheds light on how viral infections interact with our bodies

-Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health

Urgent Message from WCS as the Avian Influenza Virus Threatens Wildlife Across the Globe

-Wildlife Conservation Society

Winter spikes of the flu, COVID-19, and RSV; expert offers tips and advice for staying healthy

-Virginia Tech

The ‘tripledemic’ surge

-Michigan Medicine – University of Michigan

Rising flu, COVID, RSV rates: Johns Hopkins expert available for interviews

-Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

‘Long flu’ has emerged as a consequence similar to long COVID

-Washington University in St. Louis

Multiplex Testing Reduces Repeat Doctor Visits for Stomach Flu By Over 20%

-University of Utah Health

Team to develop breathalyzer test for COVID, RSV, influenza A

-Washington University in St. Louis

Survey finds many Americans are letting their guard down during respiratory illness season

-Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

Newswise — LOS ANGELES (Jan. 30, 2024) — Like the rest of the country, Los Angeles County has experienced a dramatic upswing in overdoses from fentanyl, an opiate that is 100 times stronger than heroin.  

According to the L.A. County Department of Health, accidental fentanyl deaths increased 1,652% between 2016 and 2022.

The numbers are shocking, and so is the patient population. No longer is the epidemic of overdoses limited to regular drug users. Today, emergency medicine experts say it’s common to treat overdosing patients who had no idea they had ingested fentanyl.

At Huntington Health, an affiliate of Cedars-Sinai, healthcare workers are trying to change that. A team of doctors, pharmacists and nurses is traveling to schools, libraries and community centers to educate people about the opioid crisis and the importance of knowing what to do when witnessing an overdose.

Cedars-Sinai’s Newsroom spoke with Huntington Health Emergency Department Pharmacist Evan Adintori, PharmD, and Emergency Physician Sam Beckerman, MD, PhD, about their work to  curb the fentanyl epidemic.

Why is fentanyl so dangerous?

Sam Beckerman, MD, PhD: Fentanyl is an extremely powerful and very effective drug that we use every day in the hospital, but it has made its way into the illicit drug supply in our country. It is an extremely powerful and potent drug, an opiate like heroin, but you need like 1/100th the amount of fentanyl compared to heroin to make you overdose and stop breathing.

Evan Adintori, PharmD: People are buying medication that they don’t have a prescription for, such as anxiety medications, and they are buying it online or in the street, and in many cases, these pills are laced with fentanyl, which can lead to potentially fatal overdoses by unsuspecting customers.

Who is at risk for a fentanyl overdose?

Beckerman: It’s not just people who use drugs regularly. It’s anybody who experiments with drugs, anybody who takes pills, anybody who might have gotten a pill from a friend for a headache, or being told that this is like a study drug. We’re seeing it creep into our high schools and middle schools. What we’re seeing—and the language that I like to use is that we’re basically seeing fentanyl poisonings. These are people who oftentimes had no intention of taking fentanyl, or no intention of taking an opiate, but they end up ingesting a potentially lethal dose, without knowing it, and can die as a result of it. 

What does a fentanyl overdose look like? 

Adintori: There are several major signs to look for. If their pupils are what we call pinpoint pupils, they become very, very small, like the size of a point of a pin. In addition, they might be breathing very slowly or very irregularly. If you try to wake them up, they may not respond very well. They might seem very drowsy, and no matter how hard you shake them, they’re not waking up. Those are some of the major signs of a fentanyl overdose. 

What action should you take if you suspect someone has overdosed on fentanyl? 

Beckerman: If somebody has a fentanyl overdose or a suspected fentanyl overdose, there’s now an over-the-counter medication called Narcan or naloxone that can be given to people who are suffering from an opiate overdose. It can help them start breathing again and give people enough time to call 911 and get paramedics and have patients be brought to the emergency room while they’re still breathing, as opposed to having the paramedics bring us somebody who’s already died because they stopped breathing.

How do you use naloxone?

Adintori: Naloxone is very easy to use. It’s designed so that anybody can use it while waiting for help to arrive. There is one dose per device and there are usually two devices in every box. If you believe someone is experiencing an overdose, you want to lay them down on their right side in case they have any adverse effects, or if they vomit, it won’t go in their airway. You insert the device into the patient’s nose, and you push the button. You only have to push it once. It will administer a single dose. And then if the person does not respond, you can administer another dose using the second device. It does not matter which nostril it goes in. You do not have to divide it between nostrils. The most important thing is that you just insert the device, push the button, and the dose is administered. This medication reverses the effects on someone’s breathing. It only works for opioid medications; it will not work for other types of overdoses. However, if someone is experiencing an overdose from an opioid, it’ll help them to start breathing again, and it will give you time for help to arrive. 

What do you want the public to know about naloxone? 

Beckerman: It’s something we feel really strongly about. It’s a very safe medication. It has a long shelf life. It doesn’t require special handling. It’s very similar to the nasal sprays that people use for their everyday allergy medications. And we recommend that people keep this medicine next to their fire extinguisher in their house, and that they have it available. We try to provide it to people in a judgment-free way, especially in light of the fact that the people who are at risk of having a fentanyl overdose these days are any human beings who might encounter a pill. One of our goals is to remove the stigma for having this in your first-aid kit in your house, just like you would a fire extinguisher or gauze or Band-Aids, because you just don’t know these days. 

What are you and your team doing to educate the public on the dangers of fentanyl and the benefits of naloxone?

Adintori: We’ve gone to a fair number of schools within the area as well as libraries and community centers, and we’ve been able to educate as many people as we can on the opioid crisis and using naloxone. We’ve had extremely positive feedback. We’ve had schools invite us for the next years, so we can continue to educate some of their students and parents, especially some of the freshman classes at the high schools.

Beckerman: One of our main messages is that we know that people will likely still continue to experiment with potentially dangerous drugs, so our goal is to inform them of what those risks are if they choose to do so. Our main goal is to save as many lives as possible because it’s now the case where if someone—maybe they decided to try something new just this once—we don’t want that to be the last mistake someone makes. We want to empower them and the people around them to know what to do in that situation and potentially save a life.

Read more on the Cedars-Sinai Blog: Talking to Your Kids About Drugs