Pain News and Research

Latest Pain News and Research

Sheepskin reduces the incidence of pressure ulcers by 58 per cent.

A major cause of patient pain and suffering and additional healthcare costs in hospitals and aged care facilities - pressure ulcers (bed sores)- can be more than halved by using a simple but effective bedding overlay product developed by CSIRO.

5 Apr 2004

First Approval in Europe of Ezetimibe/Simvastatin for treatment of elevated cholesterol

Merck/Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals today announced the regulatory approval of INEGYTM (ezetimibe/simvastatin) in Germany for the treatment of elevated cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia). INEGY is the first product to reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C or ‘bad’ cholesterol), along with diet and exercise, through dual inhibition by inhibiting cholesterol production in the liver and absorption in the intestine. The approval of INEGY in Germany represents the first approval in Europe for ezetimibe/simvastatin tablets and the first step in seeking marketing approval throughout the European Union (EU) under the EU’s mutual recognition procedure.

4 Apr 2004

Video consultations to ease stress on frail patients

Monash University's Department of Geriatric Medicine is pioneering a high-tech way of consulting with elderly patients so they do not have to leave their nursing home beds.

4 Apr 2004

Whites and African-American pain thresholds most likely the same

Previous research and anecdotal clinical evidence have suggested that African-Americans tend to be more sensitive to pain than Whites, but the latest research study shows the two groups simply interpret standard pain rating scales differently. The new study also confirms earlier findings that women are more sensitive to pain than men.

1 Apr 2004

T-cells in lupus patients avoid apoptosis and are stimulated to produce antibodies against the patients own DNA

Researchers studying autoimmune diseases have found a molecular mechanism that explains how T-cells in lupus patients avoid apoptosis and are stimulated to produce antibodies against the patients own DNA.

1 Apr 2004

Innovation that could help sufferers of Raynaud's Phenomenon

A student will display his "smart gloves" as part of the University of Dundee's annual exhibition of honours and research projects for students of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Physics and Mechanical Engineering on Wednesday 31st March.

31 Mar 2004

Discovery of gender difference in cartilage cells may help spinal disc repair

When biologist Barbara Boyan discovered science’s first proof of biochemical differences between male and female cartilage cells, she began to question the approaches she and other researchers were taking to study cells. Was their thinking biologically relevant?

30 Mar 2004

New research suggest that steroid treatment for osteoarthritis knee suffers may not progress disease as previously thought

Steroid treatment for osteoarthritis knee suffers was thought to progress the disease, but that belief has been overturned following a review of the literature by researchers at The University of Auckland. Associate-Professor Bruce Arroll, from the School of Population Health at the University, says that osteoarthritic knee pain is one of the leading causes of disability amongst older people.

30 Mar 2004

Novel uses for bacterial cellulose, artificial blood vessels, bioengineered wound dressing

New and unique products created from bacterial cellulose — from electronic paper to treatment for wounds — will highlight a one-day symposium at the 227th national meeting of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.

30 Mar 2004

Antarctic fish may aid cardiac research

A species of fish that lives in Antarctic waters may hold clues to climate change and lead to advances in heart medicine. Researchers from the University of Birmingham and the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) are investigating the behaviour and physiology of the little-known 'Antarctic Cod' that has survived in Antarctica's extreme environment for around 30 million years.

30 Mar 2004

First large-scale clinical trial of chelation therapy, a controversial treatment for heart disease

NYU Medical Center has begun enrolling patients in the first large-scale clinical trial of chelation therapy, a controversial treatment for heart disease widely practiced by complementary and alternative medicine physicians. The new, government-funded nationwide study will determine whether the therapy benefits people with coronary artery disease, the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States.

30 Mar 2004

Listening to music can ease osteoarthritis pain

US research has shown listening to music for 20 minutes a day can reduce perceived pain levels among older people suffering from chronic osteoarthritis.

29 Mar 2004

Three of the world’s top women chemists visit UK to inspire young scientists

Three of the world’s top women chemists are visiting the UK this week (29 March - 2 April) to tour institutions and talk about their research with the aim of inspiring young scientists to emulate their achievements. The inaugural Rosalind Franklin International Lectureship Programme has been masterminded by Professor Susan Gibson, Imperial College London, who funded the initiative with her prize money from the Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Award.

29 Mar 2004

Simple blood tests which could predict the severity of osteoarthritis

Bristol researchers are hoping to develop simple blood tests which could predict the severity of osteoarthritis, a common, disabling joint condition which affects more than two million people in the UK.

29 Mar 2004

A simple dietary supplement may also help to prevent strokes

A simple dietary supplement may not only give relief to some of the more than 400,000 New Zealanders that suffer from the pain of migraine headaches, but may also help to prevent strokes.

28 Mar 2004

£35m needed to boost M.E./Chronic Fatigue Syndrome research

National charity Action for M.E. is asking the government for £35 million to find a cure for M.E. - also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. With government plans to boost medical research funding to £1.2bn per year M.E. research must be considered a priority area of investment.

27 Mar 2004

A common antibiotic used to treat arthritis and acne shows promise for limiting the severity of spinal cord and brain injuries

When a fall, car crash, bullet, or knife crushes or cuts a spinal cord, the injury does not stop there. Rather, tissues continue to discharge toxic chemicals for hours, even days and weeks. These chemicals kill and disable nerve cells some distance away from the core injury, compounding the damage and making rehabilitation more difficult or impossible.

26 Mar 2004

Growth factor protein succeeds in growing new coronary arteries

Three patients of the UC Heart & Vascular Center have grown new coronary artery branches to increase blood flow to the heart after receiving a new growth factor protein (FGF1) in November 2003. All three patients showed improved blood flow to the heart twelve weeks following the injection.

26 Mar 2004

Alfuzosin, new treatment for Acute Urinary Retention

The results of the ALFAUR (ALFuzosin in Acute Urinary Retention) study, announced today at the XIXth European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress in Vienna, Austria, indicate that the uroselective alpha1-blocker alfuzosin 10 mg once daily (OD) may have a beneficial effect in the management of male patients suffering from acute urinary retention (AUR), a sudden inability to pass urine that results in a painful distension of the bladder, requires immediate management with urethral catheterization and could necessitate surgical intervention.

25 Mar 2004

Approval for FOSRENOL (lanthanum carbonate), which controls phosphate levels in renal dialysis patients

Sweden's MPA has today granted the first regulatory approval in the world for FOSRENOL (lanthanum carbonate), a non-calcium, non-aluminium phosphate binding medicine developed to control phosphate levels in renal dialysis patients. Sweden will now become the Reference Member State in the EU Mutual Recognition Procedure for FOSRENOL, and this is the first step in securing marketing approval throughout Europe. A submission has also been made by Shire to gain marketing approval for FOSRENOL in the United States.

25 Mar 2004