Chronic Pain News and Research

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Partially-matched bone marrow transplants can eliminate sickle cell disease in some patients

In a preliminary clinical trial, investigators at Johns Hopkins have shown that even partially-matched bone marrow transplants can eliminate sickle cell disease in some patients, ridding them of painful and debilitating symptoms, and the need for a lifetime of pain medications and blood transfusions.

21 Sep 2012

Bipolar patients show poor HRQoL regardless of treatment setting

Patients with bipolar disorder who present for treatment in primary care settings and those who present at community mental health clinics have equally poor health-related quality of life, US research shows.

21 Sep 2012

Think ‘glass half full’ to reduce pain after breast surgery

Women who undergo surgery for breast cancer are less likely to experience postoperative pain if they have an optimistic personality, but are more likely to experience it if they already had preoperative pain, shows an analysis of the Study of Recovery after Breast Surgery.

13 Sep 2012

Acupuncture therapy remains a prickly matter

Acupuncture may actually be effective for treating some types of chronic pain, a systematic review in the Archives of Internal Medicine shows.

12 Sep 2012

Annual economic cost of chronic pain is as high as $635 billion: Study

Health economists from Johns Hopkins University writing in The Journal of Pain (www.jpain.org) reported the annual cost of chronic pain is as high as $635 billion a year, which is more than the yearly costs for cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

12 Sep 2012

Pediatric pain: An interview with Lori Kozlowski

The pain experienced by the infants, children and adolescents in our study was the result of a broad range of medical and surgical conditions.

11 Sep 2012

Preliminary research findings from Kessler Foundation’s Ekso device study on SCI

Kessler Foundation has released preliminary research findings from its clinical study of the wearable robotic exoskeletal device, Ekso. Gail Forrest, PhD, assistant director of Human Performance and Engineering Research, presented the Ekso research data on September 3, at the meeting of the Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals at the Rio Suites in Las Vegas. Dr. Forrest directs mobility research at the Foundation, including activity-based locomotor therapy, functional electrical stimulation, and treadmill training with the LokomatPro v6, as well as Ekso.

6 Sep 2012

Clinical trial to test combination of two drugs in treating fibromyalgia

A chronic pain condition and numerous gastrointestinal disorders may all be caused by a virus. That's a Tuscaloosa-based surgeon's theory likely headed for a clinical trial early next year and one drawing support from a University of Alabama researcher who studies how viruses replicate.

6 Sep 2012

Predictors for pain after breast cancer surgery unveiled

Researchers have identified that chronic preoperative pain, axillary surgery, and psychologic robustness significantly predict acute pain outcomes after breast cancer surgery.

5 Sep 2012

Roundup: Texas probes Xerox in Medicaid overbilling; Miss. abortion clinic fights to stay open

Texas authorities are investigating whether Xerox Corp. played a role in allowing dentists to allegedly overbill the state's Medicaid system by millions of dollars.

5 Sep 2012

Young doctors seek to alter practice of medicine; Medical schools push training in addiction

The Associated Press examines how tech-savy young doctors are changing medicine, and KHN looks at efforts to train doctors to recognize how addictions complicate other health problems.

5 Sep 2012

First Edition: September 4, 2012

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including previews of the Democratic convention and a New York Times analysis of how the Obama and Romney campaigns vary on Medicaid policy.

4 Sep 2012

Potassium-channel autoimmunity linked to chronic pain

A substantial proportion of patients with voltage-gated potassium channel-complex autoimmunity experience chronic idiopathic pain, although the specific antigenic complex associated with pain remains to be determined, conclude US scientists.

3 Sep 2012

Non-pain-related factors predict long-term opioid use after surgery

Non-pain-related factors—including previous use of pain medications, high perceived risk of addiction, and symptoms of depression—increase the risk of continuing to use strong pain-relieving drugs several months after surgery, reports a study in the September issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

31 Aug 2012

Chronic nerve pain: an interview with Professor Sally Lawson

Chronic nerve pain results from pathological changes within a nerve that appear to be self-sustaining and thus the pain continues for a long time.

30 Aug 2012

Collegium commences enrollment in Oxycodone DETERx Phase 3 study in chronic lower back pain

Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative treatments for chronic pain today announced that it has initiated enrollment in its Phase 3 clinical study for Oxycodone DETERx (COL-003).

30 Aug 2012

FDA grants orphan designation to Aerial BioPharma’s ARL-N05 for treatment of narcolepsy

Aerial BioPharma, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing biologics and small molecules for conditions in the central nervous system, has received orphan drug designation for its narcolepsy drug in development.

30 Aug 2012

Sleep disorder treatment: an interview with Dr Seth Lederman, President and CEO of Tonix Pharmaceuticals

Sleep disorders are a large area. We are focused on one particular type of sleep disturbance called “non-restorative” sleep. People with this problem do sleep, but they don’t wake up feeling refreshed or feeling that their sleep has had the restorative effects of healthy sleep.

29 Aug 2012

Positive results from Spinifex’s EMA401 Phase 2 trial on postherpetic neuralgia

Spinifex Pharmaceuticals, an Australian pain drug development company, today announces positive headline results from the Phase 2 clinical trial of its lead product, EMA401, in postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), a painful condition that develops in some patients following herpes zoster (shingles) and where existing therapy does not relieve pain in all individuals.

28 Aug 2012

Mallinckrodt receives FDA approval for 32 mg tablet strength of EXALGO

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has notified Mallinckrodt, the pharmaceuticals business of Covidien, that it has approved a 32 mg tablet strength of EXALGO (hydromorphone HCI) Extended-Release Tablets (CII) for opioid-tolerant patients with moderate-to-severe chronic pain requiring continuous around-the-clock opioid analgesia for an extended period of time.

27 Aug 2012