Morphine News and Research

Latest Morphine News and Research

Research looks at hepatitis C recovery

More than 3% of world population is infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). The outcome of HCV infections is either self recovery or chronic hepatitis, and many of the chronic infections will develop into liver cirrhosis or liver cancer.

30 Aug 2007

Americans popping more pills

Americans are it seems popping more pills than ever, as according to an analysis of federal data, sales of leading painkiller medications soared by 90 percent in the eight years between 1997 and 2005.

21 Aug 2007

Breast feeding mothers warned of risks of Codeine for babies

The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) in the United States has issued a warning to nursing mothers regarding the pain-killer codeine.

20 Aug 2007

Cannabis mouth spray eases pain of cancer patients

Canadian health authorities have given approval for a new cannabis-based painkiller for use with cancer patients.

8 Aug 2007

Nanoparticles may provide safe pain control on the battlefield

University of Michigan scientists have received a pilot grant of nearly $1.3 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to test whether nanoparticles can solve a pressing problem in battle zones like Iraq: how to administer sustained, safe doses of the most effective painkillers to injured soldiers, long before they can reach expert medical help.

1 Aug 2007

Itchy and scratchy gene discovered

Itching for a better anti-itch remedy? Your wish may soon be granted now that scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified the first gene for the itch sensation in the central nervous system.

26 Jul 2007

National study to treat addiction to prescription pain medications

Researchers funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, launched the first large-scale national study evaluating a treatment for addiction to prescription opioid analgesics (i.e., painkillers) such as Vicodin and OxyContin.

10 Jul 2007

Pain management is a fundamental human right

A growing international consensus urges change in several areas - including increased availability of controlled medications such as opioids - toward the goal of recognizing effective treatment for pain as a fundamental human right, according to a special article in the July issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, the official publication of the International Anesthesia Research Society and published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

27 Jun 2007

Key source of chronic pain appears to be an old memory trace stuck in the prefrontal cortex

Why do so many people continue to suffer from life-altering, chronic pain long after their injuries have actually healed"

5 Jun 2007

AMPAKINE drugs may provide protection from drug-induced respiratory depression

Drug-induced respiratory depression is a life-threatening condition caused by analgesic, hypnotic, and anesthesia medications.

5 Jun 2007

JRRD releases issue on pain

Effects of depression and pain severity on satisfaction in medical outpatients: Analysis of the Medical Outcomes Study, pg. 143 Patient satisfaction is a critical measure of healthcare quality.

1 Jun 2007

New gene therapy can nearly eliminate arthritis pain

Early-stage research has found that a new gene therapy can nearly eliminate arthritis pain, and significantly reduce long-term damage to the affected joints, according to a study published today in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism.

28 May 2007

FDA announces results of investigation into illegal promotion of OxyContin

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI) has announced that The Purdue Frederick Company, Inc. has agreed to pay more than $700 million to resolve criminal charges and civil liabilities in connection with several illegal schemes to promote, market and sell OxyContin, a powerful prescription pain reliever that the company produces.

11 May 2007

Caring for the sick now a public health priority for developing countries

Palliative care is commonly used in developed countries to improve the quality of life of patients with life-threatening illnesses, through strategies aimed mainly at pain relief.

10 May 2007

New theory of addiction as a disease of learning and memory

Morphine, as little as a single dose, blocks the brain's ability to strengthen connections at inhibitory synapses, according to new Brown University research published in Nature.

26 Apr 2007

FDA approves Alpharma's KADIAN 10mg strength capsule

Alpharma Inc. has announced that it has been notified by the United States Food and Drug Administration(FDA) that its pending application for KADIAN 10mg strength capsule has received approval.

24 Apr 2007

First large-scale study to assess treatment for prescription drug addiction

UCSF is launching a new study to evaluate treatments for addiction to prescription painkillers and has openings for patients to enroll.

19 Apr 2007

Effective postoperative pain control using continuous peripheral nerve block reduces days of hospitalization

Effective postoperative pain control using continuous peripheral nerve block reduced average length-of-stay by nearly a day, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine physicians reported today during the 81st Clinical and Scientific Congress of the International Anesthesia Research Society at the Buena Vista Palace in Orlando, Fla.

3 Apr 2007

Promising new pain-killing drug

A potential new pain-killing drug developed by medical scientists at the University of Leicester and Ferrara in Italy is to be discussed at a public lecture on 20th March.

19 Mar 2007

Gene that prevents cancer also controls the skin's suntanning machinery

"The p53 tumor suppressor is commonly mutated in human cancer," explained David Fisher, director of the Melanoma Program in Medical Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. "Now, we've found that it plays a role in the skin's tanning response."

8 Mar 2007