What do joke-lovers and junkies have in common? According to new research, they’re both responding to the same kind of “high.” The study suggests that genuine laughter releases endorphins in the brain, chemicals that activate the …
opioids
Most Teens Taking Prescription Drugs Do It Right
Most students taking prescription medications for pain, sleep, anxiety or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) do not misuse the drugs, a new study finds. And proper use of these medications was not associated with a …
Amy Winehouse and the Pain of Addiction
Another addiction death comes at age 27, with Amy Winehouse joining Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain and most aptly, Janis Joplin among the rock icons who died from their disorder at the same point in their young lives. …
Report: Chronic, Undertreated Pain Affects 116 Million Americans
Serious, chronic pain affects at least 116 million Americans each year, many of whom are inadequately treated by the health-care system, according to a new report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM). The report offers a blueprint …
Study: Most Addicts Get Painkillers from Friends or Family, Not Doctors
Only 1 in 5 people who misuse opioid painkillers like Vicodin get their drugs exclusively from doctors, and 69% never obtain any of these drugs from medical sources, according to a recent study published in the Archives of …
Study: A Mysterious Gene Variant That Makes Quitting Smoking Easier
Smokers with a variant gene linked to higher risk for heroin addiction and more relapse in alcoholism actually have an easier time quitting cigarettes — and a new study finds that their pleasure from nicotine varies with the …
U.S. Aims to Reduce Overdose Deaths, But Will the New Plan Work?
The Obama administration announced on Tuesday a new initiative to reduce prescription painkiller misuse and overdose, a problem that has become the leading cause of accidental death in 17 states, surpassing car accidents — and …
Placebos Work Even if You Know They’re Fake: But How?
Physicians have long believed that some form of deception is essential to the placebo effect: after all, if you tell people that you’re giving them a fake drug, why would they respond by getting better?
Pharmageddon Deferred: New Measures to Stop Opioid Abuse
There’s a party going on and the entire country is invited. The problem is, it’s an opioid party—and too many Americans have been accepting the invitation.
FDA Announces New Effort to Fight Drug Errors, Surgical Fires
Around 1.5 million preventable medication errors occur in the American health system each year at a cost of over $4 billion annually, according to a new report released yesterday by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The report’s release marks the start of a new effort to reduce those numbers.
The FDA’s “Safe Use” …