Latest news with #opioidAddiction
Daily Mail
04-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Alaska woman dies from rampant STD after infection spreads throughout her organs
An Alaska woman has died after a rare and severe complication of gonorrhea, health officials report. The unnamed woman, who was in her 50s, died this spring from disseminated gonococcal infection (DGI), which occurs when the sexually transmitted infection gonorrhea invades the bloodstream and travels to vital organs. According to the Alaska Department of Health, the woman arrived at her local emergency department in Anchorage in heart failure and septic shock, the body's extreme overreaction to an infection. She had contracted gonorrhea, which affects 700,000 Americans a year, at some point within the previous six months. It's unclear if she had any other health issues other than opioid addiction and if she contracted gonorrhea from a long-term partner. The diagnosis of DGI only came after her death because she declined so quickly. Her cause of death was primarily due to the sepsis and heart failure. The woman's death comes as Alaska records the second-highest rate of STIs in the country, only falling behind Mississippi. Experts believe this is due to weak public health infrastructure and high rates of substance abuse, among other factors. The latest data shows 25 people per 100,000 Alaska residents have gonorrhea, and cases of syphilis have surged 20-fold since 2016. The woman in the report was one of eight Alaskans to be identified with DGI between January and May of this year, the health department said in a bulletin. They ranged in age from 32 to 59, and five of them were women. The average age was 40. There were no other recorded deaths from DGI. None of the patients in the report are thought to be connected to one another. The woman who died had been treated twice in the prior six months for opioid addiction, but there was no record of gonorrhea testing. Gonorrhea is an STI caused by the bacteria Neisseria gonorrhoeae, which spreads through bodily fluids like semen and vaginal fluids. It can move from person to person through oral sex, intercourse or sharing sex toys with an infected person. Most people with gonorrhea are between ages 15 and 24 and don't have symptoms, though the infection can cause unusual genital discharge, pain during sex, pain during urination, lower abdominal pain, itching, testicular pain in men and bleeding in between periods for women. In DGI, gonorrhea infections travel to the bloodstream and infect organs throughout the body due to the infection going untreated. DGI is thought to occur in just 0.5 percent of all gonorrhea cases. Health officials writing the Alaska report said risk factors for DGI, based on the women's medical records, were methamphetamine and opioid use, alcoholism, injected drug use, homelessness and having multiple sexual partners within a year. Cases of STIs in the US have spiked 90 percent in the last 20 years, but a recent slowdown has been observed. In a 2024 CDC report, reported cases of gonorrhea fell for a second year, declining seven percent from 2022 to below pre-pandemic levels. Alaska's health department recommends adults be tested for gonorrhea if they have at least one of the following risk factors: being under 25 years old, having a new partner, having more than one partner, previous STIs, a history of prostitution or a history of being incarcerated. And people who are sexually active and have a new partner, history of drug use or past STI should be tested every three to six months.
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
This Illegal Psychedelic Is Hailed as a ‘Revolutionary Breakthrough'
As opioid addiction continues to devastate communities, a growing number of people are turning to ibogaine—an obscure and controversial psychedelic. WSJ visits a clinic in Mexico to follow one patient's journey through this intense and unorthodox treatment. Sign in to access your portfolio
New York Times
14-06-2025
- Health
- New York Times
Texas OK's $50 Million for Ibogaine Research
When Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas approved legislation this week to spend $50 million in state money researching ibogaine, a powerful psychedelic, he put the spotlight on a promising, still illegal drug that has shown promise in treating opioid addiction, traumatic brain injury and depression. Interest in ibogaine therapy has surged in recent years, driven in large part by veterans who have had to travel to other countries for the treatment. The measure, which passed the Texas Legislature with bipartisan support, seeks to leverage an additional $50 million in private investment to fund clinical trials that supporters hope will provide a pathway for ibogaine therapy to win approval from the Food and Drug Administration, a process that could take years. The legislation directs the state to work with Texas universities and hospitals and tries to ensure that the state retains a financial stake in any revenue from the drug's development. 'You can't put a price on a human life, but if this is successful and ibogaine becomes commercialized, it will help people all across the country and provide an incredible return on investment for the people of Texas,' said State Senator Tan Parker, a Republican who sponsored the bill. The initiative, one of the largest government investments in psychedelic medicine to date, is a watershed moment for a field that continues to gain mainstream acceptance. Regulated psilocybin clinics have opened in Oregon and Colorado, and ketamine has become widely available across the country as a treatment for depression and anxiety. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Indivior to delist from London Stock Exchange, maintain Nasdaq listing
(Reuters) -Pharma firm Indivior said on Monday it will cancel its secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange, effective July 25, maintaining its primary listing on the Nasdaq to reduce costs and better align with its U.S.-centric business. The company, known for its opioid addiction treatment, joins a growing number of companies delisting from London, as lower valuations and weak investor appetite continue to drive firms toward U.S. markets. Shares of Indivior, which floated in London in late 2014, have dropped more than 60% from record highs hit in June 2018. The company said over 80% of its revenue now comes from the U.S., with the Nasdaq accounting for about 75% of recent trading volumes. The delisting aims to streamline operations and reflect the company's strategic focus on the U.S. market, it said. Indivior moved its primary listing to the United States last year. The decision to delist from London comes just months after Indivior overhauled its management. Earlier this year, it appointed David Wheadon as chair and Joe Ciaffoni as CEO. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CBS News
21-05-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Colorado Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen says treatment for substance use disorders would take a big hit under Republican budget bill
Treatment for substance use disorders would take hit under budget bill, Colorado Congresswoman says Treatment for substance use disorders would take hit under budget bill, Colorado Congresswoman says Treatment for substance use disorders would take hit under budget bill, Colorado Congresswoman says For Rep. Brittany Pettersen, the debate happening in D.C. over Medicaid isn't political, it's personal. If not for the government health care program, she says, her mom wouldn't be alive. Stacy Pettersen struggled with opioid addition for years, a struggle that became the catalyst for far-reaching legislation by her daughter, including a law that expanded Medicaid to cover in-patient treatment for substance use disorders. Rep. Brittany Pettersen CBS Pettersen says the law has saved lives and money. "When you're denying them care and churning in and out ER, the federal and state government spent over a million keeping her alive in ICU instead of giving her access to the care she needed," Pettersen said. Pettersen, the Democrat who represents Colorado's 7th Congressional District, was working on the bill with stakeholders, including Emergency Room Doctor Don Stader, when her mom overdosed and ended up in the ER. Stader was on duty that night. "It was one of the most surreal moments and patients of my life and it made ... (it) so clear what we are fighting for and what the stakes are," he said. With Stader's help, Pettersen has passed a number of transformative laws to help those like her mom, who is now 8 years in recovery. But she says the Republican budget bill puts all that progress at risk. "My mom is an example of what's possible when we give people the help they need," she said. "All of this is going away with this bill." The bill strips Medicaid funding for in-patient addiction treatment, repeals a law providing Naloxone for rural first responders, creates new work and cost-sharing requirements for recipients, and implements twice yearly eligibility reviews. "It's created to purge people off of actually qualifying for these benefits while paying tens of millions of dollars by increasing bureaucracy," said Pettersen. The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, which administers Medicaid, estimated the administrative burden alone would cost up to $57 million. The Congressional Budget Office says more than 100,000 Coloradans could lose their coverage. "This is going to fundamentally shift health care in many communities across the country," said Stader. "We are going to take our health care back a quantum leap for something that is far less effective, far less compassionate and far less efficient than what we have now." Last year, Colorado saw a 35% reduction in opioid deaths. Pettersen worries the downward trend will reverse course. "We had the biggest reduction of overdose deaths, and it's because of this work. It's because of access to Naloxone. It's because of increasing access to treatment. And they're actually taking that option away for states like Colorado," Pettersen said. President Trump wants the House to pass the bill by Memorial Day. He met with GOP hardliners Tuesday. They are refusing to pass the measure without deeper cuts. The bill would cut taxes by $4 trillion and reduce federal spending by $1.6 trillion, including a $700 billion reduction in Medicaid spending. It is expected to raise the national debt by about $3 trillion over the next 10 years.
