Fentanyl

A new campaign from the Ad Council and Meta Platforms Inc. is encouraging parents of teen and young-adult children to speak to them about the dangers of fentanyl. Drug overdose deaths reached a record high last year, in part because of fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid. Fentanyl is often found mixed into heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine, but it also shows up in counterfeit versions of commonly prescribed medications such as Percocet, Xanax and Adderall.…

SAN DIEGO —  Almost as soon as he woke up from surgery, Randy Dalo began to feel something was off.He was in a lot of pain, more than he anticipated. And, even worse, he told his wife, Karen, of a disturbing dream he had. He saw three or four hazy shadows of people looming over him, then a bright light, and when he tried to scream, he could not. That’s when he woke up.The dream was so vivid, Dalo believed it was actually a memory — that he had awakened during the surgery. But Karen dismissed that notion. A longtime nurse…

A vaccine that blocks fentanyl from entering the brain in rats – thus stopping the addictive high – could one day be used to combat the opioid crisis.Importantly, the vaccine did not block the action of other, non-fentanyl opioids, suggesting that it may not prevent pain relief for humans via other means."We believe these findings could have a significant impact on a very serious problem plaguing society for years – opioid misuse," says University of Houston neuroscientist Colin Haile, the lead author of the study.In the…

The ongoing opioid crisis in the U.S. has shortened life expectancy and caused untold suffering. The synthetic drug fentanyl has been particularly devastating, because it’s so potent compared to other opioids. New research in rats may offer a glimmer of hope, however: Scientists found that an experimental vaccine can prevent the behavioral and physiological effects of fentanyl, by producing antibodies that bind to the drug in the bloodstream. The work is detailed in a study published in late October in the journal…

Researchers report the breakthrough discovery of a new vaccine that targets the dangerous synthetic opioid fentanyl. It can block fentanyl’s ability to enter the brain, thus eliminating the drug’s “high.”Study suggests new vaccine could prevent deadly opioid from entering the brain.A new vaccine has been developed that targets the dangerous synthetic opioid fentanyl that could block its ability to enter the brain, thus eliminating the drug’s “high.” The breakthrough discovery could have major implications for the nation’s…

The summer before 14-year-old Alexander Neville would have entered high school, he sat both of his parents down at the kitchen table in their Aliso Viejo home and told them he’d been taking Oxycontin pills he bought on Snapchat. He had self-medicated with pot in the past, but this was different.“It has a hold on me, and I don’t know why,” he told them in 2020.Alexander’s mother, Amy Neville, said they called a treatment program the next day and were waiting to hear back on rehab facilities. Alexander got a haircut, went…

NEW YORK—Ross Mtangi, a trading executive at Credit Suisse Group AG , left his Manhattan penthouse in March 2021 with his laptop and told his pregnant partner he was going to work. He checked into a nearby hotel and tuned in to work calls. Later, he texted for cocaine from a drug delivery service. A man wearing a baseball cap, cross-body bag and face mask appeared on hotel surveillance. Mr. Mtangi, 40 years old, missed a follow up meeting. His sister and her partner found him…

The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. Every year around the middle of October, reporters start contacting me wanting to talk about rumors of contaminated Halloween treats. That’s because I track media coverage of reported incidents of trick-or-treaters receiving razor blades in apples or pins and poison in candy bars. My data goes back to 1958, and my principal finding is simple: I can’t find any evidence that any child has ever been…

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Every year around the middle of October, reporters start contacting me wanting to talk about rumors of contaminated Halloween treats. That's because…

Fentanyl is a very potent synthetic opioid that is comparable to morphine but 50 to 100 times stronger. It is a prescribed drug that is also illegally manufactured and used.A new study provides insight into how the opioid analgesic fentanyl induces autism-like behaviorOne of the most often administered analgesics in hospitals is fentanyl, a mu-opioid receptor agonist that has the potential to permanently damage rats’ behavior and sensorimotor abilities. It is unknown, however, if fentanyl usage contributes to the…