Health Newsfeed – Johns Hopkins Medicine Podcasts

Just keeping up with the names is difficult: fentanyl, carfentanyl, xylazine, now nitazines…and each has a host of harms and is more potent than its predecessor. Substance use disorder expert Eric Strain at Johns Hopkins says keeping up is a …

How is it that more and more powerful opioids are appearing among street drugs? Elizabeth Tracey reports. Read More »

Adding the potent opioid nitazine to heroin or fentanyl is hard to understand, since it ups the likelihood you’ll kill your clientele. Eric Strain, a substance use disorder expert at Johns Hopkins, is nonplussed. Strain: Why? That's a great question …

Why add even more potent synthetic opioids to existing ones? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

When someone is brought to the ED having overdosed, the clock is ticking to identify what substance they’ve used and then attempt to reverse it. Johns Hopkins substance use disorder expert Eric Strain says that’s why the new street opioid …

What are the dangers of nitazines? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

No sooner does awareness of new types of street opioids develop than the next generation appears. Such is the case with nitazines, a class of opioids being found increasingly adulterating heroin and fentanyl, with deadly consequences. Johns Hopkins substance use …

Newer and more potent street opioids are always being developed, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

First was heroin, then came fentanyl and its variations, then came xylazine. Now nitazines, a class of drugs that augment the action of opioids, are being found in drugs trafficked illegally, and they’re deadly. Eric Stain, a substance use disorder …

There’s a new drug being added to opioids bought on the street, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Respiratory infections like seasonal influenza and Covid can be devastating. Johns Hopkins critical care physician and pandemic preparedness expert Amesh Adalja says the good news is there are vaccines for both, and protection starts but doesn’t end there. Adalja: You …

What can we do to protect ourselves from respiratory infections? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Do you know the difference between seasonal and pandemic flu? Amesh Adalja, a critical care medicine physician and pandemic preparedness expert at Johns Hopkins, says seasonal flu is the garden variety type we see each year that still causes a …

Benefits of the flu vaccine are multiple, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

At this point you’ve probably gotten really tired of Covid, but it’s not time to stop thinking about viral illnesses yet. That’s because we’re on the cusp of flu season, and that’s a potent threat most people don’t even consider. …

How much do you know about flu-related mortality? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

New Covid vaccines are here, yet the number of people choosing to get them is underwhelming. Amesh Adalja, a critical care medicine physician and pandemic preparedness expert at Johns Hopkins, says many people are trying to understand why.  Amesh Adalja: …

Why aren’t people accessing the new Covid vaccines? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Are you up to date on your vaccines? How about your children? Amesh Adalja, a critical care medicine physician and pandemic preparedness expert at Johns Hopkins, says a look at the data on vaccine uptake is cause for alarm.  Amesh …

Vaccine uptake is lackluster, and that’s a problem, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »