Chronic Pain News and Research

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Circuit awarded contract to pursue optogenetic therapies for peripheral nervous system indications

Circuit Therapeutics today announced that it has been awarded a 2.7 million dollar contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to pursue optogenetic therapies for peripheral nervous system indications. The award, part of DARPA's Electrical Prescriptions (ElectRX) program, will enable Circuit to pursue research and development projects related to its treatment for neuropathic pain.

10 Dec 2015

New study finds relationship between socioeconomic factors and distribution of anesthesia providers

A new study suggests that Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) are the main anesthesia professionals ensuring patient access to critical anesthesia care in lower-income areas where the populations are more likely to be uninsured, unemployed and/or Medicaid eligible.

10 Dec 2015

New study may help doctors to better treat children who cope with chronic pain

A new study describes the development of pediatric pain measures for a National Institutes of Health Initiative aimed at helping doctors better evaluate and therefore better treat children who cope with chronic pain. Based on face-to-face interviews with pediatric patients, the study better captured the young patient's perspective of living with chronic pain.

9 Dec 2015

Motivational interviewing helps curb prescription opioid abuse among older adults with chronic pain

Prescription opioid abuse has reached epidemic proportions, with more than half of patients being treated for chronic pain reportedly misusing their medication at some point.

8 Dec 2015

World’s First and Only Upgradeable, Non-Rechargeable, Burst-Enabled MR-Conditional SCS System

St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company and an international leader in chronic pain therapy development, today announced the European launch of the Proclaim™ Elite Spinal Cord Stimulation System, the first and only upgradeable and non-rechargeable spinal cord stimulation (SCS) system approved to deliver burst stimulation from St. Jude Medical

2 Dec 2015

AbilTo launches three-week Booster Program to address ongoing behavioral health challenges

AbilTo, Inc., the leading provider of tele-behavioral health programs proven to improve medical outcomes and lower costs for high-risk medical populations, today announced the launch of its three-week Booster Program, which helps graduates of AbilTo's standard eight-week programs strengthen and refine their cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) skills and apply them to current challenges.

1 Dec 2015

Columbia University data scientists create world's first catalog of therapeutic venom

What doesn't kill you could cure you. A growing interest in the therapeutic value of animal venom has led a pair of Columbia University data scientists to create the first catalog of known animal toxins and their physiological effects on humans.

26 Nov 2015

AfBPM's second National Summit aims to improve pain management, patient safety

The Alliance for Balanced Pain Management, a diverse collective of 24 health care advocacy groups, patient organizations, industry representatives and other stakeholders, held its second National Summit on Nov. 12 and 13, 2015, to identify continued ways to support appropriate access to integrated pain management and responsible use of prescription pain medicines with an aim to improve patient safety and reduce abuse.

21 Nov 2015

Medical researchers use social media to study harmful side effects of narcotics medication

Harnessing the power of social media, medical researchers have sifted through more than two billion tweets and online posts to study the harmful side effects of narcotics medication taken for chronic pain.

19 Nov 2015

Johns Hopkins scientists use gene-based tests to distinguish precancerous cysts from harmless cysts

In a "look-back" analysis of data stored on 130 patients with pancreatic cysts, scientists at Johns Hopkins have used gene-based tests and a fixed set of clinical criteria to more accurately distinguish precancerous cysts from those less likely to do harm. The findings may eventually help some patients in real time safely avoid surgery to remove harmless cysts.

18 Nov 2015

Study shows mindfulness meditation reduces pain more effectively than placebo

Scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have found new evidence that mindfulness meditation reduces pain more effectively than placebo.

11 Nov 2015

Women need different treatment from men with addiction, says McMaster University-led study

Painkillers prescribed by doctors are the starting point for an opioid addiction for more than half of female methadone clinic patients, and they need different treatment from men with addiction, says a study led by McMaster University researchers.

10 Nov 2015

European regulator concludes that evidence does not support a causal relationship between human papillomavirus vaccines and CRPS or POTS

The European Medicines Agency’s Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) has completed a detailed scientific review of the evidence surrounding reports of two syndromes, complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) in young women given human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines.

10 Nov 2015

Advanced pain management fellowship prepares CRNAs to meet needs of Americans with chronic pain

As the first program of its kind in the United States, an advanced pain management fellowship prepares Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) with the pain management skills necessary to meet the needs of Americans with chronic pain, according to the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists.

4 Nov 2015

Chronic pain sufferers may benefit from therapy to help them sleep better, study finds

Research conducted at the University of Warwick indicates that chronic pain sufferers could benefit from therapy to help them sleep better.

31 Oct 2015

Halozyme Therapeutics announces initiation of rivipansel Phase 1 clinical trial

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that the first healthy subject has been dosed in a Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of a subcutaneous formulation of rivipansel, a compound discovered by GlycoMimetics, Inc. and being developed by Pfizer Inc., using Halozyme's ENHANZE formulation.

30 Oct 2015

FDA approves Endo’s BELBUCA (buprenorphine) buccal film for use in patients with chronic pain

Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc., a subsidiary of Endo International plc, and BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc., announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved BELBUCA (buprenorphine) buccal film for use in patients with chronic pain severe enough to require daily, around-the-clock, long-term opioid treatment and for which alternative treatment options are inadequate.

28 Oct 2015

University of Manchester scientists identify brain mechanism that raises pain threshold

Scientists at The University of Manchester have shown for the first time that the numbers of opiate receptors in the brain increases to combat severe pain in arthritis sufferers.

26 Oct 2015

Asterias’ Phase 1/2a study evaluates dose escalation of AST-OPC1 for cervical spinal cord injury

Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NYSE MKT: AST), a biotechnology company focused on the emerging field of regenerative medicine, today announced that its Data Monitoring Committee has reviewed the initial safety data from all three patients in the first cohort and has recommended dose escalation to the second cohort.

20 Oct 2015

Nonmedical use of prescription opioids drops but overdose death rates rise in U.S.

From 2003 to 2013, the percentage of nonmedical use of prescription opioids decreased among adults in the U.S., while the prevalence of prescription opioid use disorders, frequency of use, and related deaths increased, according to a study in the October 13 issue of JAMA.

15 Oct 2015