Pain News and Research

Latest Pain News and Research

New design will allow manufacturers to mass-produce PPE for health care workers

In just under two weeks, researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, with engineers, nurses and other health care professionals, have developed a design informed by clinical feedback for protective plastic face shields as the nation combats the spread of the coronavirus.

5 Apr 2020

COVID-19: Guidance to support healthcare staff having difficult conversations about end of life

A Loughborough University academic is providing guidance to clinicians who are likely to be having - and training people who will have - difficult conversations with patients suffering from COVID-19 or those closest to them.

3 Apr 2020

Loss of smell hints at coronavirus infection

The most common signs and symptoms of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) include fever, dry cough, and difficulty of breathing. But patients who were infected recall another bizarre symptom tied to the coronavirus infection – loss of smell.

2 Apr 2020

COVID-19: What the illness looks like

With increasing information about COVID-19 disease gathered first-hand, a more accurate picture of the clinical features is coming together.

2 Apr 2020

Studies shed light on the link between obesity and use of prescription opioids

Two new studies from the Boston University School of Public Health shed light on the relationship between obesity and the use of prescription opioids in the United States.

2 Apr 2020

Is coronavirus spread through feces?

A startling study from China, published in the journal Gastroenterology in March 2020, reports that the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 can spread via feces as well as the more familiar respiratory droplet route or from virus-contaminated surfaces.

2 Apr 2020

California’s new attack on opioid addiction hits old roadblocks

Jennifer Stilwell, a 30-year-old mother of two young children, kicked heroin cold turkey five years ago, but she got hooked again last fall.

1 Apr 2020

Researchers say that NSAIDs, JAK inhibitors and TNF blockers are safe to use in COVID-19

Amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, many theories have emerged about the disease and the treatments that can in supportive care. A recent theory emerged that suggests non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) might exacerbate the symptoms of the novel coronavirus. Now, a new study shows that there is no evidence for or against the use of NSAIDS, particularly ibuprofen, for patients with COVID-19.

1 Apr 2020

Study provides insights into pain signaling mechanism in the brain

Fast communication between our brain cells - or neurotransmission as it is called - is hugely important for our brain to work properly. Some of the messengers involved in this form of communication are neuropeptides, which are chemicals produced in the brain.

31 Mar 2020

Investigational oral form of treatment offers hope for adults with acromegaly

Adults who need medical maintenance treatment of the growth hormone disorder acromegaly respond well to an investigational oral form of the drug octreotide, investigators of the Chiasma OPTIMAL study reported.

31 Mar 2020

Sheltered at home, families broach end-of-life planning

Long before she contracted COVID-19 at a Kirkland, Washington, nursing home, Barbara Dreyfuss made sure to document the wishes that would govern how she died.

31 Mar 2020

Working too many hours may lead to an underactive thyroid

A new study has found that people who work longer hours are more likely to have an underactive thyroid or hypothyroidism.

31 Mar 2020

Should you bring mom home from assisted living during the pandemic?

Dr. Alison Webb took her 81-year-old father out of assisted living, to live.

31 Mar 2020

Why do men stop treatment for erectile dysfunction?

A new study published in the journal IJIR: Your Sexual Medicine Journal in March 2020 reports the most common reasons why men stop their treatment for erectile dysfunction. The most common reasons were that the treatment did not work, cost too much, or had unacceptable side effects. Loss of interest in sexual relationships was another primary reason.

31 Mar 2020

Editorial challenges U.S. healthcare system to reconsider conventional care for diverticulitis

An editorial challenges physicians and the U.S. healthcare system to reconsider the current "one size fits all" care for diverticulitis and to employ a precision medicine approach to determine which patients should be referred for colonoscopy.

31 Mar 2020

Clopidogrel added to aspirin and rvaroxaban shows no additional benefit for peripheral artery disease

The results of VOYAGER PAD found that people with peripheral artery disease (PAD) who took the blood thinner rivaroxaban with aspirin after undergoing lower extremity revascularization--a procedure to treat blocked arteries in the leg--had a significant reduction in the risk of major adverse limb and cardiovascular events when compared with those receiving aspirin alone.

31 Mar 2020

New study helps identify drugs that are safe for treating COVID-19

A recent study has found that there is no evidence for or against the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen for patients with COVID-19.

31 Mar 2020

Patients with chest pain, abnormal stress test results need attention even if arteries are clear

Patients who experience chest pain and have abnormal results on a cardiac stress test but who do not have blocked arteries often experience changes in their symptoms and stress test results over time, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session Together with World Congress of Cardiology.

30 Mar 2020

Temple researchers reverse muscle fibrosis associated with overuse injury in animals

Overuse injuries - think muscle strains, tennis elbow, and rotator cuff tears - are a considerable problem in the United States, especially among young athletes.

30 Mar 2020

Unraveling gut-to-brain communication paves way for targeted treatments

Scientists at Flinders University have, for the first time, identified a specific type of sensory nerve ending in the gut and how these may 'talk' to the spinal cord, communicating pain or discomfort to the brain.

30 Mar 2020