Addressing the rapidly growing opioid addiction and overdose crisis requires rapid change to addiction treatment. Vital Spark, a Spark Biomedical production, is a thought-provoking vital resource for addiction professionals, advocates, and patients who want to stay on top of the next wave of opioid addiction recovery options. The show brings together leading industry experts and advocates to explore addiction treatment, research, and resources, delivered in actionable, bite-sized interviews.
One in three people in the United States are either directly or indirectly affected by the opioid epidemic. Today’s guest, Tiffany Wharton, is a financial advisor, a mother, and the recently crowned Mrs. Wisconsin on a mission to destigmatize Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) and help as many sufferers across the country as possible get access to bioelectric medicine. The organization that she has founded to achieve these goals is very aptly called Heroes of the Prescription Epidemic (HOPE). Listen to this episode to hear more about the approach that Tiffany is using to bring HOPE to those with OUD, the benefits of bioelectric medicine in comparison to traditional treatment methods, and why helping OUD sufferers is a cause that everybody in the country should care about!
10 May 2023
Improving OUD Treatment with NAD+
The process of detoxing the body takes a series of steps to efficiently eliminate toxins. For people who deal with substance abuse, detoxification can be a lengthy experience as it is a mental process, just as it is a physical one. In addition to general mental health counseling, many centers that cater to people suffering from opioid use disorder (OUD) offer a myriad of services to reach full recovery. One of those solutions is IV treatment.
IV treatment (or therapy) assists the body’s natural detoxification process by further boosting its detoxifying capabilities. There are many types of IV solutions available, and some offer more comprehensive benefits than others.
9 Mar 2023
Treating Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome
The rise in opioid use in the United States has an unfortunate side effect; an increase in pregnant women suffering from an opioid use disorder. Even more tragic, this results in an increase in the number of infants born with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS). This condition can lead to devastating effects for the infant within the first hours or days of life, including severe withdrawal symptoms and development issues.
How is healthcare meeting this challenge? Luckily, clinicians, researchers, and healthcare companies are working on solutions.
9 Mar 2023
Introducing Spark Biomedical – Makers of Innovative Opioid Withdrawal Treatment
The last three years have seen a dramatic rise in opioid-related deaths. In 2018, there were 42,000 deaths related to opioids. That number rose 57% to 73,757 in the year-long period between April 2020 and April 2022. One of the primary reasons many keep using opioids is fear of withdrawal. In the first episode of the Vital Spark series, Daniel Powell, CEO of Spark Biomedical, joined Host Daniel Litwin to explain his company’s alternative opioid withdrawal treatment approach.
9 Mar 2023
This Is Your Brain On Electricity
Many of you probably remember the “This Is Your Brain on Drugs” campaign — the classic fried egg commercial used to advocate against narcotic use. Like the campaign, on this Vital Spark episode, Host Daniel Litwin joins Dr. Navid Khodaparast, chief science officer of Spark Biomedical, to highlight the specific damage opioid use can have on the brain and Spark’s cutting-edge technology behind solving the world’s opioid addiction crisis— starting with, solving opioid withdrawal. But instead of eggs and a pan, today we’re talking reward systems, dopamine, opioid hijacking, tolerance, and wearable neurostimulation treatment.
Any questions?
9 Mar 2023
Off Center: Addiction Recovery and Redemption in Professional Football
For Randy Grimes, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Center and Pro Athletes in Recovery Founder, football was always a way of life. Grimes was a star high school player with the opportunity to play anywhere in the Big-12. Landing Baylor, meeting and marrying his cheerleader wife, and eventually being drafted to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was all his life’s dream. But, the tables quickly turned when the game became a job, and the pains and pressures of the job turned into an ongoing drug addiction.
9 Mar 2023
The Intersection of Pain and Addiction: Reviewing New CDC Opioid Guidelines
The CDC recently released an updated version of their 2016 opioid prescription guidelines for physicians. The new guidelines continue to use language stating opioids should not be first line of defense in chronic pain therapy. One of the major changes in the updated language was placing more emphasis on the physician’s clinical judgement for opioid prescription. Dr. Michael Sprintz, Founder and CEO at Sprintz Center and a national subject matter on chronic pain, joined Host Daniel Litwin to dive into the updates.
9 Mar 2023
Wearable Neurostimulation Clinical Trial - Preparing a New Therapy for FDA Clearance (Part 2)
The data behind Spark Biomedical’s Sparrow Therapy System™ speaks volumes, but personal patient experiences speak even louder. Host Daniel Litwin and guest Dr. Carlos Tirado, MD, MPH review sound bites from Eliza, one of the Sparrow Therapy System clinical trial users, as she detailed her personal experience.
9 Mar 2023
Wearable Neurostimulation Clinical Trial - Preparing a New Therapy for FDA Clearance (Part 1)
In this first episode of a two-part series, Host Daniel Litwin is joined by guest Dr. Carols Tirado MD, MPH of CARMAhealth to explore Spark Biomedical’s Adult Opioid Withdrawal Clinical Trial. As the clinical trial’s principal investigator, Dr. Tirado provides insight into the study results that lead to FDA clearance of Spark Biomedical’s Sparrow Therapy System – wearable neurostimulation for opioid withdrawal relief.
10 Feb 2022
Your Brain on Electricity - New Methods to Treat Opioid Withdrawal
Many of you probably remember the “This Is Your Brain on Drugs” campaign — the classic fried egg commercial used to advocate against narcotic use. Like the campaign, on this Vital Spark episode, Host Daniel Litwin joins Dr. Navid Khodaparast, chief science officer of Spark Biomedical, to highlight the specific damage opioid use can have on the brain and Spark’s cutting-edge technology behind solving the world’s opioid addiction crisis— starting with, solving opioid withdrawal. But instead of eggs and a pan, today we’re talking reward systems, dopamine, opioid hijacking, tolerance, and wearable neurostimulation treatment. Any questions?
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