Morphine News and Research

Latest Morphine News and Research

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

Nicotine patch for prostate surgery relief?

The use of a nicotine patch - successfully used to help many smokers decrease their dependency on nicotine - was shown to reduce pain in men after prostate removal surgery in a new anesthesiology study.

15 Oct 2007

How does the opioid system work?

The opioid system controls pain, reward and addictive behaviors. Opioids exert their pharmacological actions through three opioid receptors, mu, delta and kappa whose genes have been cloned (Oprm, Oprd1 and Oprk1, respectively).

15 Oct 2007

Pain medication use does not impair driving skills and reaction times according to new study

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

15 Oct 2007

OxyContin drug company sued for millions

A private company in the United States is being sued by a number of counties in the state of Kentucky over the potent painkilling drug OxyContin.

7 Oct 2007

Research explains why opioids are thought to be ineffective in people with fibromyalgia

People who have the common chronic pain condition fibromyalgia often report that they don't respond to the types of medication that relieve other people's pain.

27 Sep 2007

Warning about dangerous potential of pain drug Fentora

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States has warned doctors about the dangers of a drug used to treat pain in cancer sufferers.

26 Sep 2007

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