Chronic Pain News and Research

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Geisinger physicians report opioid therapy to be ineffective in treating chronic pain

A new study by a pair of Geisinger Health System physicians reports that the use of opioid therapy to treat chronic pain is not only ineffective, it can actually increase the likelihood of more harmful consequences, including death.

8 Dec 2016

PinnacleHealth’s initiative helps reduce opioid prescriptions in primary care setting

PinnacleHealth Medical Group, a network of more than 200 primary care providers and specialists, singled out opioid abuse epidemic and initiated a formal opioid reduction program in 2014.

8 Dec 2016

New study to explore link between sleep and chronic pain

Washington State University will lead a study to understand the relationship between sleep and chronic pain, part of a nationwide effort to address the rising abuse of opioid pain relievers and expand the arsenal of non-drug treatment options.

5 Dec 2016

Virtual reality may help relieve phantom limb pain

In a recent study, patients experienced reduced phantom limb pain after playing an augmented reality car racing game that required them to move the missing limb.

2 Dec 2016

Neuroscientists identify new regulator of immune system

Cells of the immune system can distinguish between protein molecules that are "self" and "non-self". For example, if we are exposed to pathogens such as bacteria or viruses that carry foreign molecules on their surface, the body reacts with an immune response.

28 Nov 2016

Private practitioners urge patients to choose physical therapy over opioids to manage pain

Prescription opioid headlines are staggering: 40 Americans die each day from overdoses involving prescription opioids; they cost the United States economy $78.5 billion a year; and 227 million opioid prescriptions were handed out in the U.S. in 2015.

26 Nov 2016

Growing understanding of neuroplasticity could drive development of new therapeutic interventions

A growing understanding of the highly "plastic," changeable nature of the brain--from the level of DNA, proteins, neuronal connections and networks, up to communication across brain regions--is driving the development of new therapeutic approaches to treat chronic pain, stroke, Parkinson's disease, and a variety of other disorders described in an article in Alternative and Complementary Therapies, a journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

17 Nov 2016

NYU Langone-led study to examine longer-term use of suppressive antiviral medication to reduce shingles

NYU Langone Medical Center will lead a five-year, 60-center clinical trial to evaluate new treatment protocols for herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO), a form of shingles that can seriously and permanently affect the eye.

17 Nov 2016

New study to explore ways of helping chronic pain patients get back to work

Researchers from the University of Warwick's Medical School are leading a novel study to explore ways of helping people with chronic pain back to work.

16 Nov 2016

New Stepped Care Model for Pain Management holds potential to improve chronic pain care

In the United States, the management of chronic pain in primary care has become overwhelming for primary care providers (PCPs) and ineffectual for patients.

16 Nov 2016

UT Physicians expands Sickle Cell Center to accommodate growing number of patients

For people living with sickle cell disease, chronic pain becomes an all too familiar part of everyday life. The UT Physicians Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center is working to help change that.

15 Nov 2016

Brain-machine interface training may be promising approach for treating phantom limb pain

Phantom limb pain is the pain experienced following loss of a limb, either from injury or amputation.

15 Nov 2016

Fruit flies can be powerful model for unraveling cellular, molecular bases of damaging cold perception

The tiny fruit fly can help humans investigate the genetic and neural bases of detecting painful or harmful cold stimuli and offer intriguing, potential implications for human health, according to a new study.

10 Nov 2016

Six pioneering French companies to exhibit in innovation zone at Medica 2016

In a global market worth almost €200 billion (around £173 billion) a year, the medical devices and in vitro diagnostics sector is particularly innovative in France. Across the Channel, the sector is comprised of over a thousand companies, employing almost 65,000 people with expertise encompassing medicine, mechanics, material physics and digital technologies.

10 Nov 2016

New high-frequency SCS technique offers better outcomes for patients with chronic back and leg pain

For patients with severe, chronic back and leg pain, a new high-frequency spinal cord stimulation (SCS) technique provides superior clinical outcomes, compared to conventional low-frequency SCS, reports a clinical trial in the November issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

31 Oct 2016

Researchers identify underlying cause and potential treatment for phantom limb pain in amputees

Researchers have discovered that a 'reorganisation' of the wiring of the brain is the underlying cause of phantom limb pain, which occurs in the vast majority of individuals who have had limbs amputated, and a potential method of treating it which uses artificial intelligence techniques.

27 Oct 2016

Scientists pinpoint the brain region responsible for ‘placebo effect’ in pain relief

Scientists have identified for the first time the region in the brain responsible for the "placebo effect" in pain relief, when a fake treatment actually results in substantial reduction of pain, according to new research from Northwestern Medicine and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

27 Oct 2016

TSRI scientists discover key molecular player in inherited disorder and morphine addiction

In a remarkable "two for one" discovery, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have illuminated a key molecular player in the addictive effects of morphine in animal models.

27 Oct 2016

New drug appears to decrease inflammation in the brain linked to Alzheimer's disease

An experimental drug shows promise in treating Alzheimer's disease by preventing inflammation and removing abnormal protein clumps in the brain that are associated with the disease, suggests a study in mice presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2016 annual meeting.

25 Oct 2016

Many back pain patients taking opioids get limited relief and worry about side effects, study finds

Millions of people take opioids for chronic back pain, but many of them get limited relief while experiencing side effects and worrying about the stigma associated with taking them, suggests research presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2016 annual meeting.

24 Oct 2016

Chronic Pain News and Research

Geisinger physicians report opioid therapy to be ineffective in treating chronic pain

PinnacleHealth’s initiative helps reduce opioid prescriptions in primary care setting

New study to explore link between sleep and chronic pain

Virtual reality may help relieve phantom limb pain

Neuroscientists identify new regulator of immune system

Private practitioners urge patients to choose physical therapy over opioids to manage pain

Growing understanding of neuroplasticity could drive development of new therapeutic interventions

NYU Langone-led study to examine longer-term use of suppressive antiviral medication to reduce shingles

New study to explore ways of helping chronic pain patients get back to work

New Stepped Care Model for Pain Management holds potential to improve chronic pain care

UT Physicians expands Sickle Cell Center to accommodate growing number of patients

Brain-machine interface training may be promising approach for treating phantom limb pain

Fruit flies can be powerful model for unraveling cellular, molecular bases of damaging cold perception

Six pioneering French companies to exhibit in innovation zone at Medica 2016

New high-frequency SCS technique offers better outcomes for patients with chronic back and leg pain

Researchers identify underlying cause and potential treatment for phantom limb pain in amputees

Scientists pinpoint the brain region responsible for ‘placebo effect’ in pain relief

TSRI scientists discover key molecular player in inherited disorder and morphine addiction

New drug appears to decrease inflammation in the brain linked to Alzheimer's disease

Many back pain patients taking opioids get limited relief and worry about side effects, study finds

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