Opioid & Pain
Combatting the Opioid Epidemic

Working across disciplines to minimize pain and reduce the impact of addictive opioid drugs

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One of the basic tenets of medicine is the lessening of pain, and unfortunately for many, has led to an epidemic in the use of powerful and addicting analgesics known as opioids.

Michigan Medicine researchers are leading the field in researching evidence-based ways to more responsibly prescribe these drugs and to help patients living with opioid use disorders. Our scientists are also actively exploring effective alternative pain relievers that can help people live lives with less suffering.

Featured News & Stories
drawing on orange background of colorful pills floating with body parts in them in pain
Health Lab
Cerebral palsy medications given to adults may not match needs
Prescribing medications that treat the most obvious parts of adult cerebral palsy pain and symptoms without examining for the underlying cause is a common experience for adults with cerebral palsy. This means that proper treatment is being overlooked and these medications can cause further complications later in life.
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Health Lab
Reframing the role of medications in chronic pain management
An expert on pain management discusses why relying on medications to ease discomfort can easily backfire, and how people can avoid complete reliance on these types of drugs.
Health Lab
Cannabis & older adults: Poll looks at use, beliefs and risk
Many older Americans use cannabis products containing THC for a range of reasons, but a sizable percentage may be taking risks or facing potential addiction.
Recent Podcast Episodes in Opioid & Pain
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The Fundamentals
Researching Psychedelics for Potential Therapeutic Use
Recently, interest in psychedelic research has seen a resurgence, strengthened by better designed and controlled clinical trials and the use of neuroimaging, examining psychedelics' potential therapeutic use for PTSD, addiction, anxiety, and depression. On today’s episode, we talk with Dr. George Mashour, professor of anesthesiology and pharmacology and founder of the Michigan Psychedelic Center about using rigorous scientific methods to unlock the mysteries of psychedelics and investigate their potential as therapeutics.
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The Fundamentals
Opioids and Respiratory Depression
The main cause of death due to opioid overdose is respiratory depression. In other words, the brain of a person under the influence of opioids can simply forget to breathe. In today’s episode, we talk with Dr. Erica Levitt, associate professor in the Departments of Pharmacology and Anesthesiology at University of Michigan Medical School, who is trying to explain this connection, with the hope of maintaining the powerful pain relieving effects of opioids without their potentially deadly effects.
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Health Lab Podcast
The “chemical nudges” approach to chronic pain
In this episode, you will get to hear Dr. Boehnke, in his own words, talk about his experiences, and the “chemical nudges” approach to chronic pain; reframing the role of medications in chronic pain management, and why solely relying on pain relievers “disempowers patients, clinicians and the drugs themselves.”
Opioid & Pain Researchers
Meet the Experts

Michigan Medicine researchers are tackling the complexities of opioid use and pain management to address one of the most pressing public health challenges of our time.

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Latest Publications
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Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Signal Variability Is Associated With Neuromodulation in Fibromyalgia
Lim, M, Kim, DJ, Nascimento, TD, Ichesco, E, Kaplan, C, Harris, RE, DaSilva, AF, Neuromodulation, 2023 Jul; DOI:10.1111/ner.13512
PMID: 34309138
Knowledge, Perceptions, and Use of Psychedelics among Individuals with Fibromyalgia
Glynos, NG, Pierce, J, Davis, AK, McAfee, J, Boehnke, KF, J Psychoactive Drugs, 2023 Jan; DOI:10.1080/02791072.2021.2022817
PMID: 35001856
Transcutaneous Electrical Acustimulation Improved the Quality of Life in Patients With Diarrhea-Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Hu, P, Sun, K, Li, H, Qi, X, Gong, J, Zhang, Y, Xu, L, Lin, M, Fan, Y, Chen, JDZ, Neuromodulation, 2022 Dec; DOI:10.1016/j.neurom.2021.10.009
PMID: 35088760
Cortical mechanisms of visual hypersensitivity in women at risk for chronic pelvic pain.
Kmiecik, MJ, Tu, FF, Silton, RL, Dillane, KE, Roth, GE, Harte, SE, Hellman, KM, Pain, 2022 Jun; DOI:10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002469
PMID: 34510138
Impacts of an Opioid Safety Initiative on US Veterans Undergoing Cancer Treatment
Vitzthum, LK, Nalawade, V, Riviere, P, Marar, M, Furnish, T, Lin, LA, Thompson, R, Murphy, JD, J Natl Cancer Inst, 2022 May; DOI:10.1093/jnci/djac017
PMID: 35078240
Patient Perspectives on Improving Patient-Provider Relationships and Provider Communication During Opioid Tapering
Kosakowski, S, Benintendi, A, Lagisetty, P, Larochelle, MR, Bohnert, ASB, Bazzi, AR, J Gen Intern Med, 2022 May; DOI:10.1007/s11606-021-07210-9
PMID: 34993861
A phase 1 study to assess the safety, pharmacokinetics, and anti-tumor activity of the androgen receptor n-terminal domain inhibitor epi-506 in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer
Maurice-Dror, C, Le Moigne, R, Vaishampayan, U, Montgomery, RB, Gordon, MS, Hong, NH, DiMascio, L, Perabo, F, Chi, KN, Invest New Drugs, 2022 Apr; DOI:10.1007/s10637-021-01202-6
PMID: 34843005
Pain Management and Risks Associated With Substance Use: Practice Recommendations
Turner, HN, Oliver, J, Compton, P, Matteliano, D, Sowicz, TJ, Strobbe, S, St Marie, B, Wilson, M, Pain Manag Nurs, 2022 Apr; DOI:10.1016/j.pmn.2021.11.002
PMID: 34965906