OD’s figure in US death rate spike
A rise in drug overdoses contributed to the increasing U.S. death rate last year, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The death rate increased for the first time in a decade, The New York Times reported.
The overall death rate increased to 729.5 deaths per 100,000 people in 2015, up from 723.2 in 2014.
The CDC found the death rate for drug overdoses increased to 15.2 per 100,000 people in the second quarter of 2015, compared with 14.1 in the second quarter the previous year. The rate for unintentional injuries, which include drug overdoses and car accidents, increased to 42 per 100,000 in the third quarter last year, up from 39.9 in the same quarter the previous year. More people also died from suicide and Alzheimer’s disease last year, the report found. The findings are preliminary, and are not broken down by race, the article notes. In January, The New York Times reported the rising death rate of young white adults in the United States is being driven by drug overdoses. In contrast, the death rate for young black Americans is falling.
The findings came from an analysis of almost 60 million death certificates collected by the CDC between 1990 and 2014. Death rates for non-Hispanic whites rose or flattened for all adult age groups under 65, especially in women.
The overdose death rate for whites ages 25 to 34 in 2014 was five times its level in 1999. Among whites ages 35 to 44, the overdose rate tripled during those years. The analysis included deaths from illegal and prescription drugs. In November 2015, a study found the death rate of white middle-aged Americans is on the rise, driven in large part because of drug and alcohol overdoses, suicide, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis of the liver.
Prince’s death may spur opiate bill
The news that toxicology tests concluded Prince died from an accidental fentanyl overdose could spur Congress to reach a deal on legislation to combat the opioid crisis, The New York Times reported.
Last week the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office announced the toxicology results, but did not specify how the drug was taken, or if it was prescribed or illegally made, CNN reports. Fentanyl is an opioid legally prescribed for cancer treatment. It can be made illicitly, and is 25 to 50 times more potent than heroin.
Legislators in Washington are trying to come to an agreement on legislation that would address the national opioid crisis. Last month, the U.S. House overwhelmingly approved 18 bills aimed at addressing the nation’s opioid crisis.
The House bills will need to be reconciled with the Senate’s Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, which passed in March. The Senate measure authorizes funds for various drug treatment and prevention programs for a wide range of people, including those in jail.
CARA expands prescription drug take-back programs and establishes monitoring to prevent over-prescribing of opioid painkillers. It would expand the availability of medication-assisted treatment, including in criminal justice settings, and would support treatment as an alternative to incarceration. The measure also calls for training and equipping first responders on the use of the opioid overdose-reversal drug naloxone.
Lawmakers hope to send President Obama a compromise bill before Congress begins its summer recess in July.
Both Republicans and Democrats have an election-year incentive to make progress on the opioid epidemic, which is impacting cities and towns across the country. House Democrats had offered an amendment to provide $600 million in emergency funding for the opioid bills. Republicans blocked the bill, saying funding will come when Congress passes its 2017 spending bills for federal agencies.
Portman makes opiates campaign centerpiece
U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R- Ohio) is focusing on the heroin epidemic in his re-election campaign, USA Today reported. His campaign is released three ads on June 1 that highlight the Republican senator’s work on legislation he introduced, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA).
In one ad, Portman speaks about the bill, which passed with a vote of 94-1 in the Senate in March. Another ad features Wayne Campbell, who speaks about the death of his son Tyler from a heroin overdose. He praises Portman for his work in fighting the heroin epidemic. A third ad features Gina Bonaminio, who is in recovery from an addiction to heroin. She also praises Portman’s efforts to combat drug abuse.
CARA authorizes funds for various drug treatment and prevention programs for a wide range of people, including those in jail. The measure expands prescription drug take-back programs and establishes monitoring to prevent over-prescribing of opioid painkillers. It would expand the availability of medication-assisted treatment, including in criminal justice settings, and would support treatment as an alternative to incarceration. The measure also calls for training and equipping first responders on the use of the opioid overdose-reversal drug naloxone.
Vt. sees crack surge
As Vermont focuses its law enforcement efforts on heroin, use of crack cocaine is surging, Vermont Public Radio recently reported.
Since January 2014, when Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin devoted his State-of-the-State Address to the heroin epidemic, the state’s law enforcement, health officials and media have focused on that drug, according to Vice.
John Merrigan of Vermont State Police’s Narcotics Investigation Unit said he began to see a resurgence of crack last summer. “We had a lull in crack,” he said. “It wasn’t gone, but we definitely saw a decreased amount in Vermont for maybe the last eighteen months or two years.” During this period, reports of heroin use skyrocketed. “But for the last six months there’s been a resurgence [of crack],” Merrigan said. “We’ve been seeing it a lot more.” He added that drug-related violence in Vermont has been increasing in the last year.
“More often than not, [crack is] distributed by the same people that distribute heroin,” Merrigan said. “You can buy heroin and crack together.” Drug traffickers come up from cities including New York, Hartford and Springfield, Massachusetts. In addition, people from Vermont drive down to the cities to pick up crack for themselves, and to sell it for a profit, the article notes.
Reporter Gina Tron, who wrote the Vice story, told Vermont Public Radio, “There’s a phenomenon called the ‘balloon effect’ where a focus on one drug can actually allow another drug market to blossom. It’s a characteristic of drug enforcement across the world. The demand for drugs doesn’t go away with enforcement, instead the illegal market just mutate and shifts. Dealers find ways around obstacles, and sometimes that manifest in the form of selling a different drug.”
New study finds opiates increase pain in rats
A new study that finds opioid use increases chronic pain in rats may have important implications for humans, according to researchers from the University of Colorado-Boulder.
The researchers found that rats who received morphine for five days experienced chronic pain that continued for several months, by triggering the release of pain signals from spinal cord immune cells called glial cells.
The findings may help explain the recent surge in prescription painkiller addiction, Forbes reports.
“We are showing for the first time that even a brief exposure to opioids can have long-term negative effects on pain,” study author Peter Grace said in a news release. “We found the treatment was contributing to the problem.”
Study co-author Linda Watkins added, “The implications for people taking opioids like morphine, oxycodone and methadone are great, since we show the short-term decision to take such opioids can have devastating consequences of making pain worse and longer lasting. This is a very ugly side to opioids that had not been recognized before.”
The findings will be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
