Pain News and Research

Latest Pain News and Research

Early nerve damage caused by repetitive strain injuries can trigger "sick worker" syndrome

...characterized by malaise, fatigue and depression, and often mistaken for poor performance, according to a study by Ann Barr, Ph.D., and Mary Barbe, Ph.D., at Temple University's College of Health Professions.

24 Oct 2005

Intravenous lidocaine and oral derivatives relieve pain from damage to the nervous system

Lidocaine and similar local anesthetics are effective for treating pain that emanates from damaged nerves, according to a systematic review of current evidence.

23 Oct 2005

Nitric oxide may help sickle cell patients

Inhaling a small dose of nitric oxide gas may one day help sickle cell patients avoid pain crises and live healthier lives, researchers say.

23 Oct 2005

Deep brain stimulation can lower blood pressure

The possibility of a patient lowering their blood pressure at the flick of a switch has been raised by research led by Oxford University, which shows that stimulating parts of the brain with electrodes can change a patient’s blood pressure.

20 Oct 2005

Fatty acids in the diet may play a key role in dry eye syndrome

More than eight million people in the United States, predominantly women, suffer from dry eye syndrome, a painful and debilitating eye disease.

19 Oct 2005

Gamma Knife Stereotactic Radiosurgery (GKRS) is an effective treatment for trigeminal neuralgia

"This has proven to be a safe, effective treatment for trigeminal neuralgia patients, without the potential facial paralysis and long-term recovery experienced with conventional surgery," said Volker Stieber, M.D., co-director of the Gamma Knife Program at Wake Forest Baptist.

19 Oct 2005

Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for head and neck cancer

Results from a University of Pittsburgh study evaluating intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for head and neck cancer determined the ideal doses for lessening treatment side effects. The findings were presented today at the 47th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) in Denver.

18 Oct 2005

Single men are less likely to seek radiation re-treatment for pain caused by prostate cancer

"Patients often experience a great deal of pain if their cancer spreads to the bone," explained Andre Konski, M.D., M.B.A., M.A., F.A.C.R., director of clinical research in the radiation oncology department at Fox Chase Cancer Center and lead author of the paper on the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group study (RTOG 97-14).

18 Oct 2005

Epidurals in labour and delivery reduce pain but can increase the risk of needing forceps

Epidurals in labour and delivery reduce pain but can increase the risk of needing forceps Pain relief is an important issue for women in labour and epidurals are increasingly used.

18 Oct 2005

Black women with chronic pain experience more psychological distress

Black women with chronic pain experience more psychological distress, physical impairments and post-traumatic stress disorder than white women with chronic pain, a finding that researchers say should help lead to a narrowing of the gap in the treatment of chronic pain between black and white women.

17 Oct 2005

New findings on brain tumors called ependymomas

Brain tumors called ependymomas that occur in different parts of the central nervous system appear to arise from subpopulations of stem cells called radial glia cells (RGCs), according to investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The discovery explains why some identical-looking ependymomas are actually distinctly different diseases, the researchers said.

17 Oct 2005

Cannabis boosts brain power in rats

Scientists now say that Cannabis, the third most popular recreational drug after alcohol and tobacco, could boost brain power.

17 Oct 2005

dnaJP1 - novel drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have announced successful completion of Phase II clinical trials of a novel drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), one that works without suppressing the patient's immune system.

16 Oct 2005

Curry spice appears to shut down a protein active in the spread of breast cancer

Curcumin, the main ingredient of turmeric and the compound that gives curry its mustard-yellow color, inhibits metastasis to the lungs of mice with breast cancer, report researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

16 Oct 2005

Cannabis boosts brain power in rats

Scientists now say that Cannabis, the third most popular recreational drug after alcohol and tobacco, could boost brain power.

16 Oct 2005

New surgical option for breast cancer patients

A new surgical option for breast cancer patients combines removal of the cancerous tumor with breast reduction in one surgical procedure, called oncoplastic surgery, with benefits that include improved cosmetic outcome and reduced risk of complications.

13 Oct 2005

Gel made from a patient's own blood reduces pain and may improve wound healing

The study, published in the September issue of the Annals of Otology, Rhinology and Laryngology, found that patients who received platelet gel reported an easier recovery than patients who received traditional packing to stop bleeding.

13 Oct 2005

Complementary medicine represents an additional cost to usual care with questionable clinical benefit

The cost-effectiveness of using complementary treatments in the United Kingdom has been the subject of much speculation and controversy.

13 Oct 2005

Canadian adolescents and complementary or alternative medical treatment

While the study does not look at the effectiveness of these treatments, "what's concerning is that young people across the country have different levels of access to alternative therapies as publicly-funded services," says Dr. McColl. "There are noticeable differences in access and utilization based on education, income and geographic location."

13 Oct 2005

Nanobombs to eradicate cancer

University of Delaware researchers are opening a new front in the war on cancer, bringing to bear new nanotechnologies for cancer detection and treatment and introducing a unique nanobomb that can literally blow up breast cancer tumors.

13 Oct 2005