Pain News and Research

Latest Pain News and Research

Tension headache may actually be temporomandibular muscle and joint disorder

People whose recurrent headaches have been diagnosed as tension-related actually may be suffering from temporomandibular muscle and joint disorder, or TMJD, a study headed by a researcher from the University at Buffalo's School of Dental Medicine has shown.

23 May 2006

Alternative to hip replacement

There is a new option for patients suffering from hip pain who do not want to give up their active lifestyle.

22 May 2006

Arthritis drug wins approval for use in children with Crohn's disease

The Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. has given approval for the drug Remicade for use in children with active Crohn's disease(CD), a chronic and debilitating condition.

21 May 2006

New rheumatoid arthritis drugs may put patients at risk of infections and cancer

Anti-TNF (tumor necrosis factor) therapies are a tried and tested type of medication used for treating rheumatoid arthritis and the drugs provide benefit to many of thousands of patients worldwide.

21 May 2006

MRI provides an early alert for polycystic kidney disease

A new method using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) accurately tracks structural changes that predict functional changes earlier than standard blood and urine tests in people with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (PKD).

17 May 2006

Bedsores and bald hides: novel roles revealed for a "scaffolding" protein

A protein long thought to provide only mechanical support for keeping cells and tissues from literally falling apart turns out to have much wider utility.

17 May 2006

Cannabis effective at relieving pain after major surgery

A cannabis plant extract provides pain relief for patients after major surgery such as knee replacements, a study by Imperial College London and the Medical Research Council has shown.

17 May 2006

A review of percutaneous kyphoplasty

A procedure that fills in fractured vertebrae with injected cement has not been shown to improve a person's back pain or quality of life, according to a new analysis of studies.

16 May 2006

Low affinity analogs of thyrotropin-releasing hormone are super-agonists

Chemical knockoffs resembling a key thyroid-related hormone are, in certain cases, more effective than the real thing at activating the target receptor.

16 May 2006

Renal cell carcinoma in the pediatric population

While the incidence of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is rising, it remains a relatively uncommon malignancy in the pediatric population, where it represents only 2-6% of solid renal malignancies.

16 May 2006

Role of acetaminophen in acute myocardial infarction

Acetaminophen is safe to use as a pain reliever and fever reducer after a heart attack, but it does not protect the heart muscle, a new study using sheep and rabbits concluded.

16 May 2006

Heroin plus pain killer proves to be a lethal combo

According to health officials and the Chicago police a deadly combination of heroin and a prescription pain killer has resulted in one death and 21 others becoming ill.

15 May 2006

Hidden thousands devastated by myalgic encephalomyelitis

New research published by the UK's leading Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.) charity, Action for M.E., suggests that a hidden 55,000 people in Britain are so severely affected by the illness that they're either bed-bound or house-bound.

11 May 2006

Unique protein expression could serve as a screening test for head and neck cancers

The blood of patients with head and neck cancer appears to have unique patterns of protein expression that one day could serve as a screening test for the highly aggressive cancer that is often diagnosed too late, researchers say.

10 May 2006

What is the best laparoscopic approach for laparoscopic radical nephrectomy?

Laparoscopic radical nephrectomy is rapidly becoming the gold standard as the surgical procedure of choice in patients with localized renal cell carcinoma.

10 May 2006

Air purifiers increase ozone levels exceeding health standards

In a small, poorly ventilated room, an indoor air purifier that produces even a few milligrams of ozone per hour can create an ozone level that exceeds public health standards, researchers at UC Irvine have found.

10 May 2006

Lilly submits Cymbalta NDA for generalized anxiety disorder

Eli Lilly and Company has announced the recent submission of a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Cymbalta (duloxetine HCl) for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder.

10 May 2006

That dreadful feeling - most choose more pain sooner rather than less later

According to research into why people experience the feeling of dread, a team of Emory neuroscientists led by Gregory Berns, MD, PhD, used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to determine the areas of the brain that are activated when someone gets that dreadful feeling.

9 May 2006

Doctors widely prescribe drugs without adequate scrutiny

In choosing which drugs to prescribe, doctors often select medications for patients despite a lack of conclusive medical evidence of their effects and safety, according to a new study led by a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

9 May 2006

Off-label prescribing common, often not backed by data

A study of office-based physicians in the United States suggests that about one-fifth of medications are prescribed to treat conditions for which they are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and that nearly three-fourths of those uses lack strong scientific support, according to an article in the May 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

9 May 2006