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The 麻豆传媒在线 Weekly for January 27, 2026
This Week in the 麻豆传媒在线 WeeklyA Heartbreaking Face of the Stimulant Crisis: Stimulants and methamphetamine-related emergencies are no longer confined to the pages of public health reports, they are unfolding daily in hospitals and emergency departments across North America. Clinicians increasingly encounter young adults experiencing chest pain, arrhythmias, or new cases of heart failure with no prior cardiac history but with a positive toxicology screen for (meth)amphetamine. This clinical pattern, once rare, has become alarmingly common. A new national cohort analysis by Garel and colleagues quantifies what frontline physicians have long observed. Using high-dimensional propensity score matching on more than 137,000 patients with substance use disorders (SUD), the authors compared the cardiovascular impact of stimulant use disorder (StUD) with non-stimulant SUD. Their findings showed that individuals with StUD had a 37% higher risk of major adverse cardiac events (MACE), including myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure, or death, as compared with patients with non-stimulant SUDs. Even after rigorous adjustment for demographic and clinical confounders, mortality remained 23% higher. These results demonstrate that stimulant use carries distinct and substantial cardiovascular risk, even within an already vulnerable population. Apply to be the 麻豆传媒在线 Weekly Editor in Chief! ASAM Weekly, with a circulation of 70,000 readers, is conducting a search for a new Editor in Chief (EIC). The EIC will serve a 1-year term from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027, with the option to renew for additional years. Benefits and compensation offered. ASAM’s Needs Your Expertise ASAM’s Clinical Practice Guideline Methodology and Oversight Subcommittee (CPG-MOS) is seeking additional volunteers to join the group. The CPG-MOS provides advice and guidance for the implementation of ASAM’s CPG methodology. Members with an understanding of GRADE methodology and CPG development are encouraged to apply. For more information or to apply, click . Lead Story 馃敁 JAMA Network Open Researchers completed a national web-based survey of 1,552 adults in the United States in April 2025 to assess perceptions of opioid overdose deaths and opinions of people who use opioids. Those who responded primarily identified as female (60.5%) and aged 30–44 (33.7%). Political views varied: 28.9% identified as conservative, 39.6% as moderate, and 31.5% as liberal. Most respondents viewed opioid overdose deaths as serious (88.2%). Respondents felt that people who use opioids (81%) and pharmaceutical companies (72.7%) were most responsible for reducing overdose deaths, with more liberals identifying pharmaceutical companies as responsible while moderates and conservatives more often identified individuals as responsible. Of the respondents, 38.3% reported they were unwilling to have a person with opioid use disorder (OUD) as a neighbor and 58.4% were unwilling to have a person with OUD marry into their family, with higher percentages of conservatives than liberals endorsing these beliefs. Research and Science
This retrospective cohort quality improvement study examined outcomes for 686 veterans with OUD who initiated buprenorphine in either a primary care (PC) or SUD specialty care setting between 2018 and 2023. Data were derived from phase 1 of the SCOUTT (Stepped Care for OUD Train-the-Trainer) initiative within the Veterans Health Administration, which sought to improve provision of medication for OUD (MOUD) within primary care, mental health, and pain clinics. Overall, similar rates of retention were found for both PC (44.3% at 180 days and 30.6% at 365 days) and SUD (47.6% at 180 days and 31.7% at 365 days) sites. Patients seen in PC settings were more likely to be older and married, while individuals with unstable housing were more likely to initiate buprenorphine treatment in SUD specialty care.
To improve access to MOUD, State Opioid Response (SOR) grants targeted underserved groups, specifically underinsured and uninsured populations. Researchers used electronic health data to evaluate treatment outcomes for patients who received MOUD through SOR grants versus traditionally insured patients. In an adjusted analysis, researchers did not find any difference in treatment engagement, MOUD adherence, or non-prescribed substance use between the two groups. Researchers found that the SOR grant-funded group did have a longer average length of stay for hospitalization. Authors suggest that the grant-funded group may have had more clinical and psychological complexity, but also that many intensive outpatient and residential programs do not take SOR funds, thus impacting hospital discharge planning.鈥�� Tobacco Control Oral nicotine products (ONP) use has increased in the US since their introduction in 2014, with concern about use among youth. Given TikTok’s popularity among this population, researchers sought to evaluate links between ONP memes on TikTok and potential increase in ONP sales. Researchers assessed US ONP sales between January 2021 and October 2023 and found that sales growth was stable until a significant increase starting in a 4-week sales period beginning mid-March of 2023. Researchers also found that there was a spike in ONP content on TikTok between September 2022 and January 2023 and a subsequent spike starting July 2023. The authors suggest a reciprocal relationship between prominence on TikTok and ONP sales, and virality on TikTok reinforces the normalization of ONP use among youth.鈥� Learn More 馃敁 Smokeless tobacco (ST) use is a leading yet preventable cause of oral cancer and premature death worldwide. Over 360 million people across 140 countries use ST, with the majority in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in South Asia. Classified as a group 1 carcinogen, ST products (eg, gutka, khaini, and snuff) contain varying levels of harmful compounds, often including areca nut, another carcinogen. Oral cancer incidence continues to rise in regions with high ST use, notably India, where it constitutes most tobacco consumption. Despite evidence showing that behavioral counseling and pharmacologic interventions like varenicline and nicotine replacement therapy promote cessation, clinical attention to ST remains limited. Health professionals can play a pivotal role by identifying users during routine care, counseling them on cessation, and detecting precancerous lesions early, thereby reducing the substantial global burden of ST-related oral cancers. 馃敁 JMIR Formative Research Directly observed therapy (DOT) for methadone dosing has been the norm in opioid treatment programs (OTP). During COVID, requirements for DOT were relaxed to allow increased take-home doses up to 28 days. Concerns about loss of accountability have led to pilot studies of video DOT as a middle ground. Patients download a smartphone app that records a video of dose ingestion as well as the medication bottle. Tamperproof bottles address concerns about diversion. Videos are then reviewed asynchronously by clinic staff. This study analyzed OTP staff opinions prior to implementation of DOT at a large OTP in Washington state. DOT was felt to benefit patients traveling long distances to the clinic or those with disabilities. DOT could allow take-home doses for patients who otherwise couldn’t qualify and facilitate more rapid dose escalation. DOT is part of a future where in-person clinic dosing becomes less common. In the News National Geographic 馃敁 Medscape MassLive 馃敁 CBC News The New York Times Financial Times |