Latest from NIDA | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

As Opioid Use Disorders Increased, Prescriptions for Treatment Did Not Keep Pace

July 2, 2018 | Several effective medications are now available for treating opioid use disorder but many patients who could benefit do not receive them. Some patients who receive the medications face challenges to...

News Release

2018 Avenir award recipient to study how social networks affect people who use drugs

July 2, 2018 | A proposal to study how drug users who are part of social networks influence their own communities has been given the 2018 Avenir award for HIV/AIDS research by the National...

Science Highlight

A revealing look at the brain on heroin

June 29, 2018 | A NIDA-funded study reveals major changes in the brains of heroin users.

News Release

New clinician screening tool available for substance use

June 28, 2018 | The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Clinical Trials Network has unveiled a new scientifically validated, online screening tool designed to assess a patient’s risk for substance misuse and substance...

News Release

Training module now available for acute pain management in hospitalized adults

June 27, 2018 | A case-based clinician training module designed for the evaluation of acute pain and opioid management for adults is now available through the Centers of Excellence in Pain Education (CoEPE) program...

Science Highlight

Scientists discover path to better pain medicines

June 26, 2018 | In this this NIDA-funded research, scientists used a novel approach to compare the cell signaling initiated by kappa opioids that produce dysphoria from those that do not.

NIDA Notes

Outcomes of Computerized CBT Rival Those of Clinician-Delivered CBT

June 25, 2018 | This clinical trial: Found that patients who self-administered cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) using computerized training modules reduced their drug use as much as patients who received clinician-delivered CBT, and they...

News Release

Analysis of insurance coverage for back pain shows missed opportunities to prescribe non-opioid medications

June 22, 2018 | A comprehensive analysis of health insurance coverage of non-opioid and opioid medications to treat chronic low back pain concluded that some insurance plans have missed important opportunities to steer patients...

News Release

Methadone and buprenorphine reduce risk of death after opioid overdose

June 19, 2018 | A National Institutes of Health-funded study found that treatment of opioid use disorder with either methadone or buprenorphine following a nonfatal opioid overdose is associated with significant reductions in opioid...

NIDA Notes

In Animals, Opioid Combination Shows Promise for Safer Pain Relief

June 19, 2018 | This study found that: In rats, co-administration with nalfurafine reduced the dose of oxycodone required to lower pain responses in models of human chronic pain. The combination treatment generated less...

NIDA Notes

A Gene Links Impulsivity and Drug Use Vulnerability

June 14, 2018 | This research: Identified a gene variant that promotes impulsive behavior and enhanced responses to heroin in rats. Linked the corresponding human gene variant to increased risk for impulsivity and drug...

NIDA Notes

Novel Compound Alleviates Hard-to-Treat Pain in Mice

June 14, 2018 | A novel compound called GAT211 alleviates inflammatory and neuropathic pain in mice without producing tolerance or signs of abuse liability.

News Release

Special journal issue highlights ABCD brain study

June 11, 2018 | The special issue is an overview of the ABCD Study and includes articles about the rationale for the study, its design and recruitment strategy, assessment protocols and neuroimaging parameters, the...

Science Highlight

Too Hot And Too Cold: Dysregulation of key brain networks in people with addiction

June 8, 2018 | Study suggests that brain activity is not simply too high or low in people who are addicted to drugs, but behaves differently to drug and non-drug stimuli.

News Release

Full survey of annual teen drug use now available with additional data

June 1, 2018 | The complete volume of the 2017 Monitoring the Future Survey (MTF) teen drug use and behavior survey results is now available online with never before seen highlights about drug use...

News Release

Higher rate of substance use among Native American youth on reservations

May 31, 2018 | A survey comparing drug use among Native American youth living on or near reservations to a national sample of American youth found that Native American youth report substantially higher use...

NIDA Notes

Cigarette Smoking Increases the Likelihood of Drug Use Relapse

May 31, 2018 | This research: Found that cigarette smoking increased the likelihood of relapse among people in recovery from substance use disorder (SUD). Suggests that helping patients quit and remain abstinent from smoking...

Science Highlight

Breathing under the influence of … fentanyl

May 30, 2018 | An animal study at NIDA's intramural research labs suggests fentanyl-induced respiratory depression affects the temperature of the brain, triggering brain hypoxia and hyperglycemia.

News Release

Method to identify undetected drug suicides wins top NIDA Addiction Science Award

May 18, 2018 | A project that identified and tested a bioinformatics program that can help identify underreported suicides linked to drug overdoses was awarded the first-place distinction at the 2018 Intel International Science...

News Release

FDA approves first medication to reduce opioid withdrawal symptoms

May 16, 2018 | Lofexidine, the first medication for use in reducing symptoms associated with opioid withdrawal in adults, has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Science Highlight

What science says about Tobacco + Marijuana + Pregnancy

May 11, 2018 | A NIDA-funded study suggests that pregnant women who smoke both marijuana and cigarettes have a higher likelihood of smaller babies and increased maternal stress and aggression.

News Release

Study upends conventional view of opioid mechanism of action

May 10, 2018 | A new discovery shows that opioids used to treat pain, such as morphine and oxycodone, produce their effects by binding to receptors inside neurons, contrary to conventional wisdom that they...

NIDA Notes

Narrative of Discovery: The Quest for a Medication To Treat Methamphetamine Addiction, Part 3

May 4, 2018 | Dr. Linda Dwoskin feels just one small step away from success in her effort to develop the first-ever medication to treat methamphetamine addiction. She and colleagues at the Universities of...

News Release

Nearly half of opioid-related overdose deaths involve fentanyl

May 1, 2018 | An analysis of opioid-related overdose deaths found that synthetic opioids, such as illicit fentanyl, have surpassed prescription opioids as the most common drug involved in overdose deaths in the U.S.

News Release

Dr. Kurt Rasmussen to lead NIDA’s therapeutics and medical consequences division

April 30, 2018 | The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a component of the National Institutes of Health, welcomed Dr. Kurt Rasmussen today as the Director of the Division of Therapeutics and Medical...

News Release

Understanding the Neuroscience of Addiction: what it means for prevention and treatment

April 25, 2018 | Advances in the understanding of brain development, as well as the role that genes and environment play in addiction, are the focus of a review article published today in The...

NIDA Notes

Fear of Distress Signals Risk for Opioid Misuse in Chronic Pain Patients

April 24, 2018 | In this research: Among patients with chronic pain, those who reported less ability to tolerate physical or emotional distress were more likely to misuse opioid analgesics. Neither pain severity nor...

Science Highlight

Overdose drug shows promise as stroke treatment

April 17, 2018 | Preclinical research lays the groundwork for developing the first drug to promote recovery from ischemic stroke, a leading cause of adult disability.

News Release

Five million American adults misusing prescription stimulants

April 16, 2018 | Looking at annual averages, approximately 6.6% (or 16 million) of U.S. adults used prescription stimulants in the preceding year; 4.5% (or 11 million) used prescription stimulants appropriately (without misuse); 2.1%...

Science Highlight

Communities That Care program shows success in reducing substance use and behavioral issues in adolescents

April 13, 2018 | The CTC is a prevention planning and implementation system that trains community coalition is to assess their community’s needs, then select and use evidence-based programs and policies to reduce risk...