Prevention efforts that begin later are 'too little, too late,' researchers say

By Alan Mozes; HealthDay Reporter
Among U.S. adolescents, misuse of prescription painkillers peaks at age 16, earlier than thought, a new large survey analysis reveals.

"What our findings suggest is that if we wait until the last year of high school or college to take some kind of action that could prevent the misuse of opioid painkillers, it'll be a case of too little, too late," cautioned study co-author James Anthony, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics in the department of epidemiology and biostatistics at Michigan State University in East Lansing.

Many experts consider "extramedical" painkiller abuse -- taking pain drugs such as OxyContin (oxycodone) and Vicodin (hydrocodone) to get high rather than to relieve extreme pain -- the country's most serious drug challenge. Some kids had already misused these drugs by age 13 or 14, or eighth grade, the researchers found.  » More

By HeathPop Staff
Abusing painkillers is a big problem in the U.S. - about 12 million people said they used painkillers for non-medical reasons in the past year, according to recent CDC estimates.

A new study found rates of newborns born addicted to opiate drugs tripled over the past decade, driven by legal and illegal use of opioids like hydrocodone and oxycodone, CBS News reported. The number of newborns with withdrawal symptoms increased from a little more than 1 per 1,000 babies in 2000 to more than 3 per 1,000 in 2009, according to the study.  » More

War veterans with severe pain may need drugs like morphine and hydrocodone to manage it, but the medications are associated with higher rates of overdose and self-harm in those with post-traumatic stress.

By Maia Szalavitz
Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan war are more than twice as likely to be prescribed opioid medications, such as morphine and hydrocodone, for their physical pain if they also have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These soldiers are also more likely to overdose on drugs or alcohol, be involved in violence or self-harming behavior, including suicide, or have other accidents than veterans who do not use the pain relievers, according to a new study. » More

By Grace Rattue
According to a study published in The Journal of Pain, the peer-review journal of the American Pain Society, individuals who take opioid analgesics, who are not dependent or addicted, often have cravings to take more medication. The researchers from Harvard Medical School say that this behavior is not linked to increases in pain intensity or pain levels.

In order to research drug craving, the investigators enrolled 62 patients prescribed opioid analgesic who were at low or high risk for misusing medication. They discovered that there was no clear evidence that craving is a sign of drug addiction, as individuals have reported drug cravings even though they are not addicted.  » More

Thousands of Addicts Face Involuntary Withdrawal

By Prithi Yelaja, CBC News
The move to replace the prescription painkiller OxyContin with a newer formulation less prone to misuse won’t solve the crisis of widespread abuse, experts say, unless there is additional training for physicians and treatment for addicts.

Following a similar move in the U.S. in 2010, Purdue Pharma will stop manufacturing OxyContin in Canada and replace it —starting Thursday — with OxyNeo pills, which have been treated to make them extremely difficult to break down.  » More

By Dr. Frieden
Thirty years ago, I attended medical school in New York. In the key lecture on pain management, the professor told us confidently that patients who received prescription narcotics for pain would not become addicted.

While pain management remains an essential patient right, a generation of health care professionals, patients, and families have learned the hard way how deeply misguided that assertion was. Narcotics - both illegal and legal - are dangerous drugs that can destroy lives and communities.

Millions of Americans struggle with substance abuse. Across the United States, overdoses involving opioid painkillers - a class of drugs with narcotic effects that includes hydrocodone, methadone, oxycodone - have skyrocketed in the past decade.  » More