Morphine News and Research

Latest Morphine News and Research

Gene therapy for pain

Researchers in the Department of Medicine and Department of Neurosciences at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have discovered that chronic pain can be successfully treated with novel targeted gene therapy.

23 Jan 2008

Gene therapy promises relief from chronic pain

Researchers in the U.S. have discovered that chronic pain can be successfully treated with a new gene therapy technique.

22 Jan 2008

Popular sleeping pill Stilnox in danger of being classed with morphine, narcotics and amphetamines

A popular sleeping pill that has reportedly triggered bizarre side-effects in some people, could be placed by Australian drug regulators into the same class as morphine, narcotics and amphetamines.

22 Jan 2008

Experts say far too much is spent on needless indigestion drugs

According to two experts in Britain the National Health Service (NHS) is needlessly spending at least 100m pounds per year on indigestion drugs.

7 Jan 2008

Minorities less likely to receive pain-relieving opioid drugs in ER

Blacks and Hispanics who go to hospital emergency departments in pain are significantly less likely than whites to get pain-relieving opioid drugs, according to a new study funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

7 Jan 2008

A genetic influence on alcohol addiction found - lack of endorphin

The research reveals that a subject's brain with low beta-endorphin levels becomes accustomed to the presence of an exogenous surplus, diminishing its own supply and triggering dependence on an external source--in this case, alcohol.

19 Dec 2007

Morphine for cancer pain relief

Cancer patients are suffering unnecessarily because they wrongly believe that morphine and other opioids are only used as “comfort for the dying” and as a “last resort” rather than seeing them as legitimate pain killers that can improve their quality of life.

10 Dec 2007

Moderate, long-term pain medication use does not impair a person's ability to drive safely

Moderate, long-term pain medication use does not impair a person's ability to drive safely, according to a study by Dr. Asokumar Buvanendran, associate professor, Department of Anesthesiology at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago.

21 Nov 2007

New non-addictive pain-killers

Two University of Adelaide pharmacologists working with one the world's leading neuroscientists have helped pave the way for the development of new pain-killing drugs that are not addictive.

20 Nov 2007

Chemical peroxynitrite tolerates pain

The repeated use of opiate drugs such as morphine to relieve chronic pain results in individuals having to take higher and higher doses of the drug to achieve equivalent pain relief (they are said to exhibit antinociceptive tolerance).

2 Nov 2007

Preventing Morphine tolerance

Tolerance to the pain-relieving effects of morphine - which builds rapidly with prolonged use - can be prevented by blocking a key substance that's formed when the drug is taken, researchers at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine have discovered.

2 Nov 2007

Search for new uses for heroin and marijuana

The world's leading expert on the opium poppy has joined forces with researchers working on another infamous drug-producing plant – cannabis – in hopes of finding new uses for the much-maligned sources of heroin and marijuana.

1 Nov 2007

Acupuncture before and during surgery reduces the need for powerful painkillers

A new study has found that using acupuncture before and during surgery significantly reduces the level of pain and level of painkillers needed by patients following surgery.

17 Oct 2007

Low levels of vitamin D may exacerbate chronic pain

Approximately one in four patients who suffer from chronic pain also have inadequate blood levels of vitamin D, possibly contributing to their ongoing pain, according to a new study. Patients lacking sufficient vitamin D also required higher doses of morphine for a longer period of time.

16 Oct 2007