Recommendations from research published today on the diagnosis and treatment of spinal cord damage caused by nitrous oxide abuse have been simultaneously adopted as official clinical practice guidelines by the Association of British Neurologists.
For men undergoing surgery to repair scarring in the urethra (urethroplasty), a new approach to pain management can reduce the need for strong opioid drugs without compromising pain control, reports a study in Urology Practice(r), an Official Journal of the American Urological Association (AUA). The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.
Prazosin, a medication FDA-approved for hypertension and used off-label for alcohol use disorder, may help prevent drinking relapse in people with cardiovascular or behavioral symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, according to a new study involving active-duty soldiers.
ROCKVILLE, MD – Approximately three million Americans suffer from opioid use disorder, and every year more than 80,000 Americans die from overdoses. Opioid drugs, such as heroin, fentanyl, oxycodone and morphine, activate opioid receptors. Activating mu-opioid receptors leads to pain relief and euphoria, but also physical dependence and decreased breathing, the latter leading to death in the case of drug overdose.
In a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) expressed its strong support of naloxone nasal spray products for non-prescription use. Naloxone, a safe life-saving medication that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose and significantly reduces the incidence of opioid overdose deaths, should be available to all patients across the United States as a nonprescription treatment, according to the ASA.
Naloxone is an opioid receptor antagonist that rapidly reverses or blocks the effects of opioids, restores normal respiration and heart rhythm, and reverses the potentially fatal effects of an overdose. Although naloxone is included in U.S. CDC recommendations, the drug is currently prescribed to less than 1 in 70 patients prescribed high-dose opioid prescriptions. Researchers propose a call to action for all health providers and state medical societies to ensure the widest distribution and easy availability of naloxone, including over the counter, which is likely to be FDA-approved very soon.
In May 2022, leadership within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) approved a joint clinical practice guideline for the use of opioids when managing chronic pain.
Unique research carried out during the Covid pandemic has highlighted major problems with the Home Office application process for immigration claims.
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Awarded $2.5 Million Grant to Address Youth Mental Health Crisis by Training Primary Care Pediatricians in Behavioral and Mental Health.
