"Aspen Ideas Takes Sobering Look At Opioid Addiction" - Scott Condon
The United States is at risk of falling further behind dealing with an opioid addiction crisis, which already kills 91 people per day on average. Opioids are a legitimate part of doctors' toolbox to treat acute and chronic pain, the panel members agreed, but their use exploded in the 1990s. Some pharmaceutical companies aggressively marketed opioids as a safe and non-addictive painkiller in the 1990s. Insurance industry practices favor prescribing pain medication over more time-consuming and costly integrated care. Yasmin Hurd, PhD, a professor of psychiatry, neuroscience and pharmacological sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai said, “The synthetic opioids are particularly addictive because they affect the brain and leave the body so quickly. Even if you are not at high risk, taking those will definitely take you over the edge.”
- Yasmin Hurd, PhD, Professor, Psychiatry, Neuroscience, Pharmacology, Systems Therapeutics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Chair, Ward-Coleman of Translational Neuroscience, Director of the Center for Addictive Disorders, Mount Sinai Health System
Two Leading Mount Sinai Brain Scientists Elected to the National Academy of Sciences
May 05, 2022 View All Press Releases