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NMS Labs launches test to evaluate the efficacy of Milnacipran

NMS Labs launches another unique test suitable for the evaluation of toxicity vs. efficacy, the potential for physicians to establish therapeutic drug monitoring of individual patients, and the assessment of drug diversion of a new pain management drug therapy.

31 Mar 2010

DEA crackdown on nursing home drugs comes under Congressional scrutiny

The New York Times previews a Capitol Hill hearing Wednesday where nursing home operators and caregivers will criticize a narcotics crackdown by the Drug Enforcement Administration that they say "has left seriously ill patients crying for pain relief.

25 Mar 2010

DEA regulations will impact nursing home residents, says AAHSA

In written testimony to the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging as part of a hearing entitled, "The War on Drugs Meets the War on Pain: Nursing Home Residents Caught in the Crossfire," the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) urged the committee to support legislation designed to recognize "chart orders" and the functional role of nurses as the de facto agent of physicians whose patients reside in nursing facilities.

25 Mar 2010

Medical Facilities' service revenue increases from $199.4M in 2008 to $207.4M in 2009

Medical Facilities Corporation, today reported its financial results for the three and twelve-month periods ended December 31, 2009. All amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars unless indicated otherwise.

22 Mar 2010

Study suggests doctors overlook effects of implanted heart defibrillators in dying patients

The Associated Press reports that heart defibrillators implanted in a patient's chest may disrupt a quiet death, but doctors and relatives of people dying of non-heart related diseases often don't consider that issue. "It's not unusual for health professionals to avoid the topic, says Dr. Nathan Goldstein of New York's Mount Sinai Medical Center.

17 Mar 2010

Debate on end-of-life care

With skyrocketing Medicare costs contributing to record-setting budget deficits, does the United States need to ration costly end-of-life care? This compelling topic will be the focus of an upcoming debate produced by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, in partnership with MacNeil/Lehrer Productions and The National Press Club.

16 Mar 2010

Forensic Laboratories introduces first oral fluid test for Tapentadol

Forensic Laboratories, a Denver-based laboratory specializing in toxicology services for drug abuse, has unveiled the first oral fluid test for Tapentadol, a new federally approved drug prescribed by doctors for pain management. Previously, laboratories could only detect the drug through urine using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) technology.

15 Mar 2010

A.P. Pharma reports net loss of $1.9M for fourth-quarter of 2009

A.P. Pharma, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, today reported financial results for its fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2009.

15 Mar 2010

Vertos Medical announces positive results from IRB I Patient Outcomes Trial of 'mild' for LSS

Medical device company Vertos Medical Inc. has announced the release of positive results from its U.S. IRB I Patient Outcomes Trial, a prospective, investigational review board-approved, 75-patient study of mild for the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). Six-week clinical data have shown that patients treated with mild experience statistically and clinically significant improvement in both pain and functional ability. The data also confirmed mild’s safety, with no reports of patient complications related to the procedure or the devices.

12 Mar 2010

Managing back pain without costly medications: High-touch Integrative Medicine therapies may help

A new pilot study conducted with assembly workers at the Ford Motor Company in Louisville, KY focused on acute, work-related low back pain. Results of that study indicate that high-touch Integrative Medicine (IM) therapies can help employees manage back pain without the costly medications typically associated with managing their pain.

12 Mar 2010

Injured nerves may cause severe pain in patients with sickle cell disease

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have discovered the pain caused by sickle cell disease may not occur solely from damaged tissues, but also from injured nerves.

11 Mar 2010

Forteo therapy may speed healing, improve patient outcomes after rotator cuff surgery

Tears in the shoulder's rotator cuff, a common sports injury, are painful and restricting. Surgery to repair the damage is successful for pain management, but in many patients it does not result in full recovery of function due to poor healing. New research shows an approved therapy for osteoporosis, Forteo, may speed healing and improve patient outcomes.

11 Mar 2010

Gentiva Health Services acquires Heart to Heart Hospice

Gentiva Health Services, Inc., a leading provider of home health and hospice services, announced today that it has acquired Mississippi-based Heart to Heart Hospice.

8 Mar 2010

Inpatient integrative medicine program can have significant impact on pain: Study

Non-traditional therapies relieve pain among a wide range of hospitalized patients as much as 50 percent, according to a first-of-a-kind study in the Journal of Patient Safety.

6 Mar 2010

New dental device takes fear and pain out of anesthetic injections

DentalVibe™ a new dental device now on the market takes the fear and pain out of dental injections. The product design firm, Bresslergroup, teamed with Dr. Steven G. Goldberg, DDS, to design the easy to use tool. Research shows that fear of a painful anesthetic injection keeps 50% of the patient population away from the dentist.

3 Mar 2010

Children with cancer experiencing extreme pain: 13% of parents consider "hastening death"

A survey of parents who had a child die of cancer found that one in eight considered hastening their child's death, a deliberation influenced by the amount of pain the child experienced during the last month of life, report Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers in the March issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

2 Mar 2010

Study: People can reduce their sensitivity to pain by thickening their brain

People can reduce their sensitivity to pain by thickening their brain, according to a new study published in a special issue of the American Psychological Association journal, Emotion. Researchers from the Universit- de Montr-al made their discovery by comparing the grey matter thickness of Zen meditators and non-meditators.

25 Feb 2010

Aetna selects Millennium Laboratories as national pain management services provider

Millennium Laboratories, a leading provider of therapeutic drug monitoring and education to physicians and staff treating chronic pain patients, announced today a national agreement with Aetna, one of the nation’s leading diversified health care benefits companies that serves approximately 36.3 million people. Under the terms of the three-year ancillary services agreement which went into effect February 1, 2010, Millennium Laboratories’ will assist Aetna participating physicians nationwide with state-of-the-art therapeutic drug monitoring services and tools.

23 Feb 2010

Fourth-quarter and fiscal year 2009 results announced by DJO Incorporated

DJO Incorporated, a global provider of medical device solutions for musculoskeletal health, vascular health and pain management, today announced financial results for its operating subsidiary, DJO Finance LLC (“DJOFL”), for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2009. ReAble Therapeutics, Inc. (“ReAble”) acquired DJO Incorporated (“DJO Opco”) in a transaction completed on November 20, 2007 (the “DJO Merger”).

18 Feb 2010

First robot-assisted cystectomy in North Texas

UT Southwestern Medical Center surgeons completed the North Texas region's first robot-assisted bladder removal using the DaVinci system, a four-armed robot controlled by the surgeon via a joystick.