Pain News and Research

Latest Pain News and Research

White blood cell called a neutrophil appears to be crucial to abdominal aortic aneurysm formation

Each year, 200,000 Americans find out that the largest blood vessel in their body, the aorta, may burst open at any time. About 20,000 die suddenly from such a rupture. And another 36,000 have surgery to repair or replace the swelling section of aorta before time runs out.

13 Jul 2005

Australian product promotes healing in venous stasis ulcers

Novogen has announced the results of a Phase II clinical trial of its investigational wound healing compound, Glucoprime, in venous stasis ulcers.

13 Jul 2005

Hospice referral rates increase with intervention

A simple information and communication intervention between a patient and physician can increase hospice referral rates among nursing home residents, increase their families' ratings of end-of-life care, and may decrease use of acute care resources, according to an article in the July 13 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

13 Jul 2005

Women beware of black cohosh, red clover and ginseng!

Women who take soy or herbal supplements, such as black cohosh, red clover and ginseng, should do so with care, says a Cornell University expert affiliated with the Program on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors (BCERF) at Cornell, the land-grant institution of New York state.

13 Jul 2005

Menopause symptoms return with a vengence when women stop HRT

In somewhat depressing news for women battling that often miserable phase in their lives, the menopause, it appears that more than half of women who start taking hormone replacement therapy to relieve the discomfort, can expect to see a dramatic resurgence of those symptoms, when they discontinue the therapy.

12 Jul 2005

Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS) offers clues to SIDS, sleep apnea

Imagine raising a child who stops breathing when falling asleep - and has to be reminded to visit the bathroom after drinking a Big Gulp. That's the dilemma faced by parents of children born with congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS).

11 Jul 2005

Prescription drug abuse in the USA exceeds 15 million

A recently released report by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University suggests between 1992 and 2003, more Americans were abusing controlled prescription drugs than cocaine, hallucinogens, inhalants and heroin put together.

11 Jul 2005

Vioxx safe enough for Canadian market says health panel

A canadian health advisory panel says that Merck's arthritis drug Vioxx should be allowed to go on sale again in the country, 10 months after the company withdrew the blockbuster painkiller over reports that it increased the risk of heart disease.

11 Jul 2005

True validity of prostate cancer tests questioned

According to the American cancer society, more than 232,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year, and about 30,000 will die of it.

11 Jul 2005

Stress on arthritic knees significantly eased by small weight loss

A new study says that overweight people suffering from arthritis in the knees, could diminish the stress the knees take with every step, by just losing one pound.

11 Jul 2005

Acupuncture no help for fibromyalgia sufferers

Fibromyalgia is a condition that causes pain and tenderness in the head, shoulders, upper back, thighs, and abdomen and sufferers also often have headaches, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and sleep problems.

7 Jul 2005

Catchers' mitts do not adequately protect players' hands from injury

"We found signs of early blood vessel damage that could lead to significant symptoms and could end a player's career," said T. Adam Ginn, M.D., chief resident in orthopaedics at Wake Forest Baptist, and one of the study's researchers. "The gloves' current design does not protect the hand from trauma."

6 Jul 2005

New study strengthens the case for development of vaccine to prevent dengue fever

A new study of the disease burden of dengue fever in Malaysia strengthens the case for development of a vaccine against the mosquito-borne illness.

6 Jul 2005

Neurological complication may result from rapid withdrawal from pregabalin

A report in the July Annals of Neurology describes a serious adverse event experienced by a participant in a clinical trial that may raise a new caution about the use of antiepileptic drugs for conditions other than epilepsy.

6 Jul 2005

Helping children deal with chronic pain

One in fifty children and adolescents live with severely debilitating and recurrent pain but there is an "embarrassing" lack of data on the best ways to treat them, according to researchers.

6 Jul 2005

Drug abusers are increasingly turning to a slow-release form of drug fentanyl

Drug abusers are increasingly turning to a slow-release form of a powerful painkiller for a quick and dangerous high, University of Florida researchers warn. The trend is raising alarm as the number of people dying from an overdose of the drug fentanyl, an opioid 100 times more potent than morphine, rises.

6 Jul 2005

Substantial public health impacts of 1990 invasion and occupation of Kuwait

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) made public the findings of Phase I of their investigation of the public health impacts on Kuwaiti Nationals of Iraq's 1990 invasion and seven-month occupation of Kuwait.

6 Jul 2005

Orthodontics takes first step toward biological control of tooth movement

In the first study of its kind, University of Florida researchers are testing the power of a natural human hormone to biochemically move teeth faster and less painfully during orthodontic treatment.

6 Jul 2005

Exercise and back support improves balance in elderly

By wearing a unique weighted back support device and participating in a special exercise program, women over 60 with osteoporosis-caused curvature of the spine improved their balance and experienced diminished back pain, giving researchers at Mayo Clinic a promising therapy to reduce falls among this population.

6 Jul 2005

It's the truth - pain hurts women more than men

Researchers at Bath University are disputing the common belief that women are able to tolerate pain better than men; they claim that in fact the opposite is true.

5 Jul 2005