Pain News and Research

Latest Pain News and Research

Novel automated anesthetic technique

Researchers at McGill University and the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) have performed the world's first totally automated administration of an anesthetic. Nicknamed "McSleepy," the new system developed by the researchers administers drugs for general anesthesia and monitors their separate effects completely automatically, with no manual intervention.

1 May 2008

Presumptive GOP Presidential nominee McCain provides further detail on his health care proposal

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) on Tuesday in a speech at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute in Tampa, Fla., detailed his health care proposal and for the first time proposed a plan to help individuals who cannot obtain private health insurance because of pre-existing medical conditions, the Miami Herald reports (Dorschner, Miami Herald, 4/30).

30 Apr 2008

Children more vulnerable to harmful effects of lead at age 6 than as toddlers

Contrary to prevailing assumptions, children are more vulnerable to the harmful effects of lead exposure at the age of 6 than they are in early childhood, according to a Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center study to be presented May 4 at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies in Honolulu.

30 Apr 2008

AstraZeneca submits sNDA for SYMBICORT in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

AstraZeneca today announced that it submitted a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval of a new indication for SYMBICORT (budesonide/formoterol fumarate dihydrate) Inhalation Aerosol for the treatment of patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). SYMBICORT is currently approved for the long-term maintenance treatment of asthma in patients 12 years and older.

30 Apr 2008

FDA approves Amitiza for irritable bowel syndrome with constipation

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Amitiza (lubiprostone) for the treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Constipation (IBS-C) in adult women aged 18 and over.

29 Apr 2008

Study explains why steroid therapy for sinusitis and asthma loses its punch over time

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have outlined a new path for potential therapies to combat inflammation associated with sinusitis and asthma based on a new understanding of the body's earliest immune response in the nose and sinus cavities.

29 Apr 2008

Gastric bypass surgery and effect on lower back pain

The prevalence of both obesity and back pain in developing nations has reached alarming levels. According to recent statistics, more than one-third of U.S. adults - over 72 million people were obese in 2005-2006. Of these, 33.3 percent were men and 35.3 percent were women. Especially alarming is that obesity has not decreased among teenagers - the rates remain essentially unchanged in 2005-2006 from the 2003-2004 estimates, at 17 percent.

29 Apr 2008

Deep brain stimulation may help people with treatment resistant major depression

Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic, Brown University, and Massachusetts General Hospital will present results of a long-term outcome study that builds on previous promising research, which has shown that deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a potentially effective treatment option for people with treatment resistant major depression.

29 Apr 2008

Chocolate good for pregnant women

According to scientific research in the U.S. eating chocolate, especially dark chocolate, during pregnancy is good for mother and baby.

29 Apr 2008

Scientists explore brain's reaction to potent hallucinogen

Brain-imaging studies performed in animals at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory provide researchers with clues about why an increasingly popular recreational drug that causes hallucinations and motor-function impairment in humans is abused.

28 Apr 2008

Three bitten by rabid dog in Britain

A dog imported into Britain from Sri Lanka has died of rabies but not before it had bitten three people.

28 Apr 2008

Laser eye surgery comes under close scrutiny

More and more people are having laser vision corrective surgery (LASIK surgery) in the hope that their vision will be restored to such an extent that glasses will no longer be needed.

28 Apr 2008

Put patients before profit says UNISON

UNISON is calling for the sterilisation of surgical instruments to be brought back within hospital control.

26 Apr 2008

FDA approves Actonel (risedronate sodium) for postmenopausal osteoporosis

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new once-a-month dose (150 mg) of Actonel (risedronate sodium) tablets for the treatment and prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Actonel is approved to reduce the risk of fractures in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.

24 Apr 2008

CMS adds searchable database of lowest-quality nursing homes nationwide to web site

CMS on Thursday added to the Nursing Home Compare Web site a searchable database with the names of nursing homes that rank in the lowest 5% to 10% in quality based on state inspection results, the Wall Street Journal reports

24 Apr 2008

Cuddles diminishes pain from heel lance in preterm babies

Research published today in the open access journal BMC Pediatrics suggests that very preterm babies, born between 28 and 31 weeks, could benefit from skin-to-skin cuddling with their mother before and during painful procedures such as a heel lance.

24 Apr 2008

Doctors should consider alternatives to antibiotics for sinusitis

When suffering through a sinus infection, many people ask for an antibiotic to speed their recovery. However, a recent review of clinical trials found that while antibiotics can provide minor improvements in uncomplicated sinusitis cases, most patients recover without the drugs within two weeks.

24 Apr 2008