Chronic Pain News and Research

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Skin cell-derived CGRP-beta may cause chronic pain

A new study may explain why only 50% of patients experiencing chronic nerve pain achieve even partial relief from existing therapeutics. The study, published in the June 6 online version of the international research journal PAIN, reveals that certain types of chronic pain may be caused by signals from the skin itself, rather than damage to nerves within the skin, as previously thought.

9 Jun 2011

Researchers discover a peptide that short circuits chronic pain pathway

Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine have discovered a peptide that short circuits a pathway for chronic pain. Unlike current treatments this peptide does not exhibit deleterious side effects such as reduced motor coordination, memory loss, or depression, according to an article in Nature Medicine posted online June 5, 2011.

6 Jun 2011

Primary care providers treat hepatitis C patients effectively through Project ECHO model

Under a completely new way of providing health care, primary care clinicians in remote villages, prisons and poor urban neighborhoods who were trained to treat patients with hepatitis C achieved excellent results identical to those of specialists at a university medical center.

4 Jun 2011

Men with migraine suffer from PTSD than women

A recently published paper highlights that while the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is more common in those with migraine than those without migraine irrespective of sex, the risk is greater in male migraineurs than female migraineurs. Study details are now available in Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain, published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Headache Society.

1 Jun 2011

People with unexplained symptoms can benefit from traditional acupuncture

Attending frequently with medically unexplained symptoms is distressing for both patient and doctor and effective treatment or management options are limited: one in five patients have symptoms that remain unexplained by conventional medicine.

30 May 2011

Nerve stimulation device approved for pain

The Medtronic Inc. has won the CE Mark approval for a peripheral nerve stimulation device for treating chronic back pain. This medical device maker from Minneapolis, Minn. said the implantable device will fit into its neurostimulation business, which operates out of the company's restorative therapies division. That unit was responsible for about $5.42 billion in sales during the nine-month period ended Jan. 28.

From Medtronic 24 May 2011

Disaster-response planning raises challenges for mental health services, bioethicists say

Johns Hopkins University bioethicists say disaster-response planning has generally overlooked the special needs of people who suffer from pre-existing and serious mental conditions.

24 May 2011

Johns Hopkins bioethicists urge disaster preparedness for mentally impaired

Johns Hopkins bioethicists say disaster-response planning has generally overlooked the special needs of people who suffer from pre-existing and serious mental conditions. Survivors already diagnosed with schizophrenia, dementia, addictions and bipolar disorder are vulnerable long before a disaster strikes, they point out.

23 May 2011

Millennium Laboratories founder to be honored as 2011 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur for pain care

Millennium Laboratories, a leading provider of medication monitoring services to physicians and staff treating chronic pain, announced today that James Slattery, CEO and founder, is a regional finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2011 San Diego region.

23 May 2011

APS honors recipients of Clinical Centers of Excellence in Pain Management Awards

The American Pain Society, www.ampainsoc.org, today honored the recipients of its fifth annual Clinical Centers of Excellence in Pain Management Awards recognizing the nation's outstanding pain care centers.

21 May 2011

Pediatric pain experts discuss safety, efficacy of pain medications in children

Can we be certain that pain medications considered safe for adults, based on extensive clinical data and experience, are equally safe for use in young children? Pediatric pain experts discussed this question today in a panel session at the American Pain Society, www.ampainsoc.org, annual scientific meeting and agreed more short term and long-term clinical data are needed to provide assurances about the safety and efficacy of several pain medications in children.

21 May 2011

HSS researchers develop new tool to compare efficacy of different brachial plexus surgical treatments

The way that clinicians report outcomes of surgery for a traumatic nerve injury involving the arm is not standardized, and it is thus difficult to compare the efficacy of different surgical treatments, according to a study by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York.

20 May 2011

Complementary and alternative health practices show promise for management of pain

A variety of complementary and alternative health practices —including meditation and relaxation techniques, manual therapies such as massage and spinal manipulation, meditative exercise forms such as yoga, Tai Chi, and ancient health practices such as acupuncture—show promise for contributing to the management of pain according to research presented at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Pain Society, www.ampainsoc.org.

20 May 2011

Unigene enters Clinical Manufacturing Services Agreement with Cara Therapeutics

Unigene Laboratories, Inc. a leader in the design, delivery, manufacture and development of peptide-based therapeutics announced today that the Company signed a Clinical Manufacturing Services Agreement with Cara Therapeutics, Inc.

19 May 2011

Online program helps people to manage chronic pain

There is good news for the 76 million Americans who experience chronic pain including migraine, back pain, fibromyalgia and arthritis. A new study reveals that an online, self-paced chronic pain management program reduces the physical and psychological burdens of this debilitating condition.

19 May 2011

Treatment of chronic low back pain can reverse abnormal brain activity and function

It likely comes as no surprise that low back pain is the most common form of chronic pain among adults. Lesser known is the fact that those withchronic pain also experience cognitive impairments and reduced gray matter in parts of the brain associated with pain processing and the emotional components of pain, like depression and anxiety.

18 May 2011

Kaiser Permanente awards $7.7 million as 217 grants during first quarter, 2011

Kaiser Permanente, one of the country's largest not-for-profit health care organizations, announced today that it has funded 217 grants nationwide, totaling approximately $7.7 million in the first quarter of 2011.

6 May 2011

OU-COM receives Osteopathic Heritage Foundation grant to address healthcare issues

The Osteopathic Heritage Foundations' $105 million award to Ohio University's College of Osteopathic Medicine represents the largest private donation ever given to a college or university in Ohio. This gift will be used to address some of the most pressing health care issues across the state and the nation - the impending shortage of primary care physicians and the diabetes epidemic.

2 May 2011

Abnormal connections created by central nervous system linked to persistence of chronic pain

Chronic pain is an epidemic. One in four Americans suffers from chronic pain due to disease—including cancer and HIV—and the medications used to treat those diseases. One reason for the persistence of chronic pain may be that the patient's central nervous system creates abnormal connections or improves connections that shouldn't be strengthened, explains Susan G. Dorsey, PhD, RN, co-director of the School of Nursing's Center of Excellence in Disorders of Neuroregulatory Function.

30 Apr 2011

Drug subsidy issues out of PBS’ hands - almost

According to Health Minister Nicola Roxon, expensive drugs have never been automatically listed for subsidy and they can't be now when the government controlling expenses. She added that federal Labor has to balance competing priorities in health and every other department.

29 Apr 2011