The National Institute on Drug Abuse plans to bring researchers and clinicians together for a two-day meeting to discuss "Pain, Opioids, and Addiction: An Urgent Problem for Doctors and Patients" on March 5, 2007 at the Natcher Conference Center, National Istitutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland. It is believed to be the first time that researchers and clinical practice communities have jointly addressed the pain management and addiction problem.

"Currently, the most powerful treatments available for most forms of pain are opioids. However, opioid treatment can produce negative health consequences, such as intoxication, impairment and physical dependence, and may result in opioid abuse and addiction," according to the NIDA. "The goal of this two-day meeting is to inform researchers and practitioners about the state of the science of the intersection of addiction and pain management."

The meeting is co-sponsored by the American Medical Association and the NIH Pain Consortium. A full agenda is available online.

Scheduled Speakers

Scheduled speakers for the two-day meeting include:

• David Borsook, M.D., Ph.D., Director, P.A.I.N. Group, Brain Imaging Center, Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Harvard University.

• Carol J. Boyd, Ph.D., Director, Institute for Research on Women and, Gender, Substance Abuse Research Center, University of Michigan.

• David J. Daniels, M.D., Ph.D., Neurosurgery Resident, University of Minnesota Medical School.

• R. Christopher deCharms, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, Omneuron, Inc..

• Christopher J. Evans, Ph.D., Director, Brain Research Institute, Stefan Hatos Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Center for Study of Opioid Receptors and Drugs of Abuse, University of California, Los Angeles.

• Howard Fields, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Wheeler Center for the Neurobiology, of Addiction, Earnest Gallo Clinical Research Center, University of California, San Francisco.

• David A. Fiellin, M.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University.

• Kathleen M. Foley, M.D., Attending Neurologist, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

• Nathaniel P. Katz, M.D., M.S., Adjunct Assistant Professor, Analgesic Research, Department of Anesthesiology, Tufts University School of Medicine.

• Mary Jeanne Kreek, M.D., Professor and Senior Physician, Kreek Laboratory, Rockefeller University.

• David F. Musto, M.D., M.A., Professor of Child Psychiatry, Child Study Center, Yale University.

• Pamela P. Palmer, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care, Director, Pain Care-Center for Advanced Research and Education, University of California, San Francisco.

• Steven D. Passik, Ph.D., Associate Attending Psychologist, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Weill Medical College, Cornell University.

• Ze'ev Seltzer, D.M.D., Canada Senior Research Chair, Professor of Genetics, Faculty of Dentistry, Professor of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Centre Program in Neuroscience for the Study of Pain, University of Toronto.

• Kári Stefansson, M.D., Chief Executive Officer, deCode Genetics.

• Walter F. Stewart, Ph.D., M.P.H., Associate Chief Research Officer, Director, Geisinger Center for Health Research, Geisinger Center for Health Research.

• Mark Sullivan, M.D., Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral, Sciences, Adjunct Professor, Department of Medical History and Ethics, University of Washington.

• Ming T. Tsuang, M.D., Ph.D., D.Sc., Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego.

• Nora D. Volkow, M.D., Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health.

• Norm Wetterau, M.D., Physician, Tri-County Family Medicine.

• Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D., Director, National Institutes of Health.

• Jon-Kar Zubieta, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Research Professor, Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, Departments of Psychiatry and Radiology, University of Michigan.

More Information:

Pain-Killer Abuse Increasing Among Older Adults
A Prescription for Teen Danger
Meth, Painkiller Admissions Continue to Rise