Attention drawn to a more recent drug intended to reverse opioid overdoses

Online attention is being drawn to a more recent drug intended to reverse opioid overdoses, but local health officials are advising caution before considering it as a substitute for the commonly used pharmaceutical naloxone. Similar to naloxone, also marketed under the brand name Narcan, nalmefene, a drug approved to reverse opioid overdoses, blocks opioid receptors in the brain to restore respiration. The drug that is now available in the Toledo region is naloxone.