Pain News and Research

Latest Pain News and Research

New device for clearing blocked arteries in the legs receives FDA approval

Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. (CSI) has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the use of the Diamondback 360 Orbital Atherectomy System (OAS) for removing plaque blockages in the legs (peripherals) and restoring blood flow.

25 Sep 2007

Do static magnets help reduce pain?

Static magnets are widely marketed to the public with claims of effectiveness for relieving pain.

25 Sep 2007

AstraZeneca and UT Southwestern agree to a three-year collaboration to combat psychiatric illness

Depression is one of the leading causes of disability in the United States, affecting approximately 14.8 million adults or about 6.7 percent of the population age 18 and older in a given year(1).

25 Sep 2007

Acupuncture effective for treating low back pain

Six months of acupuncture treatment appears to be more effective than conventional therapy in treating low back pain, according to a study in the September 24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, although the study suggests that both sham acupuncture and traditional Chinese verum acupuncture appear to be effective in treating low back pain.

25 Sep 2007

Acupuncture appears better for back pain than drugs and exercise

If you are one of the millions struggling to cope with lower back pain acupuncture might provide some welcome relief.

24 Sep 2007

Stress and cardiovascular health

The importance of a healthy lifestyle to reduce stress in order to manage risk factors associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes is emphasised in a Review in this week's edition of The Lancet.

24 Sep 2007

FDA warns consumers not to consume Organic Pastures raw cream

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers not to drink or consume raw (unpasteurized) cream labeled as "ORGANIC PASTURES Grade A RAW CREAM" in one-pint plastic bottles coded "SEP 14" through "SEP 21."

24 Sep 2007

Top five prescribed drugs

With a total nearly $5 billion, Lipitor, a cholesterol-reducing drug, ranked first in terms of total spending on prescription medicines by adults ages 18 to 64 in 2004, and another cholesterol-fighting drug, Zocor, ranked fourth at $2.3 billion, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

21 Sep 2007

Cell-surface sugar defects may trigger nerve damage in multiple sclerosis patients

Defects on cell-surface sugars may promote the short-term inflammation and long-term neurodegeneration that occurs in the central nervous system of multiple sclerosis patients, according to University of California, Irvine researchers.

21 Sep 2007

Causes and treatments for gynecomastia

Gynecomastia, the benign enlargement of male breast tissue, is a common occurrence in adolescents as well as in middle-aged and older men.

20 Sep 2007

Common abdominal pain may be due to a potentially treatable newly recognized inflammatory reaction

As many as one in four people in westernized countries experience pain or discomfort in their upper abdomen, and physicians have almost nothing to offer except anti-acid medicines, which usually don't work.

20 Sep 2007

ACTOS associated with reduced risk of heart attack and stroke in patients with type 2 diabetes

Results presented at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes demonstrate the ability of ACTOS (pioglitazone HCl) to reduce the risk of ischemic cardiovascular disease in patients with type 2 diabetes.

20 Sep 2007

Merck to face New York State and New York City in joint lawsuit

The drug company Merck is facing joint action from New York State and New York City over the millions which were spent on health programs related to the drug Vioxx.

20 Sep 2007

Coblation VS Co2 laser for tonsil ablation in adults

New surgical procedures are being developed that could help to speed healing time and reduce pain for adult patients suffering from chronic tonsillitis.

18 Sep 2007

FDA accepts Sucampo's sNDA for Lubiprostone for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., has announced that the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for lubiprostone (8 mcg, oral gel capsules, twice daily) for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) has been accepted for review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

18 Sep 2007

Surgeons remove a woman's gall bladder through her vagina

French surgeons successfully removed a woman's gall bladder through her vagina, according to a report in the September issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

18 Sep 2007

Skin cooling may increase risk of discoloration after laser treatment

A cooling technique intended to protect the skin may actually increase the risk of discoloration in dark-skinned patients undergoing laser treatments for mole-like skin lesions, according to a report in the September issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

18 Sep 2007

Study looks at universal pain screening accuracy

The most commonly used measure for pain screening may only be modestly accurate, according to researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine and the University of North Carolina.

18 Sep 2007

Head and neck cancer may impair driving ability

A preliminary study suggests that patients with cancer in the head and neck region may have inferior performance in some driving skills compared with individuals without the disease, according to a report in the September issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.

18 Sep 2007

HPV infection and head and neck cancer

The human papillomavirus (HPV) has been implicated as a cause of cervical cancer in women, but there's another devastating form of cancer also linked to HPV infection - head and neck cancer - and almost no one is talking about it.

18 Sep 2007