Pain News and Research

Latest Pain News and Research

Gluten exposure at 4 to 6 months of age lowers risk of celiac disease

Children with gluten exposure from cereal grains at 4 to 6 months of age have a lower risk of celiac disease than children with exposure before or after this time period, according to a study in the May 18 issue of JAMA.

17 May 2005

Sensor warns of gastrointestinal problems

Dutch researcher Sebastiaan Herber has developed a sensor which can detect poor blood circulation in the stomach. A high level of carbon dioxide in the stomach is a characteristic of this so-called gastrointestinal ischaemia. By measuring this concentration the sensor can indicate how good or bad the circulation in the stomach wall is.

17 May 2005

Rifaximin is effective in preventing attacks of diarrhea

An antibiotic can be safely used to prevent attacks of diarrhea that plague millions of globe-trotting vacationers and business travelers, a Houston research team reports this week in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

17 May 2005

Six out of ten first-time mothers who had a prolonged labour say that the experience will affect them for life

A team of Swedish researchers, led by Astrid Nystedt from Umea University, studied 84 women who had experienced prolonged labour with assisted vaginal or caesarean delivery. They then compared their experiences with 171 women who had had normal deliveries.

17 May 2005

Use of a common type of antidepressant may increase gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding

In fact, the study suggests that the increase is similar to that associated with the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs, known as pain relievers). DDW is the largest international gathering of physicians, academics and researchers in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery.

17 May 2005

MDCT overtakes ventilation-perfusion lung scan for diagnosing pulmonary embolism

MDCT pulmonary angiography is replacing the ventilation-perfusion lung scan to diagnose suspected pulmonary embolism in hospitalized patients, say researchers from Rhode Island Hospital in Providence.

17 May 2005

Identifying high-risk prostate cancer means more prudent treatment decisions

While prostate cancer is a very common diagnosis, it is a deadly disease in relatively few men. One in 6 men will develop prostate cancer during his lifetime. However, of these, only one in 10 cases will be life-threatening.

16 May 2005

Disabling gene defuses rheumatoid arthritis in mice

Scientists studying mice have identified a gene that allows immune cells known as neutrophils to protect themselves from the inflammatory chemicals they secrete.

16 May 2005

Robotic surgery dramatically reduces physical trauma for head & neck cancer patients

For patients with cancer of the mouth and throat, surgery is a frequent course of treatment, often leading to speech and swallowing dysfunction and external scarring.

15 May 2005

Miserable mumps makes a comeback

There is concern in the UK at the growing number of outbreaks of mumps among children and young people.

12 May 2005

Less invasive procedure for treatment of uterine fibroids is effective

Women who suffer from the frustrating and painful chronic symptoms of uterine fibroids have a safe and effective alternative to surgery according to new five-year studies presented at an annual meeting of the Society of Interventional Radiology held in April. Studies found that uterine fibroid embolization has a 73 percent success rate at five years.

11 May 2005

Call for "ring-fenced" funds for research into Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS)

The medical research charity, MERGE (ME Research Group) is calling for the ring fencing of resources for biomedical research into ME/CFS.

11 May 2005

Coping with pain quite a struggle for half of the U.S.A.

At least 50 precent of the U.S. population are struggling to cope either with the aggravation of intermittent pain or with the misery of chronic pain which is difficult to treat. This results in less work, crankier moods and fewer activities, combined with a wide-ranging search for pain relief.

11 May 2005

Broken bones may reduce risk of ovarian cancer

The pain and suffering of a broken bone may yield an unexpected benefit – a reduced risk of ovarian cancer.

10 May 2005

Survey finds most people with diabetes don't know about highly prevalent, serious complication

A new national survey commissioned by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) reveals that, while the majority of people with diabetes experience symptoms associated with diabetic neuropathy (nerve damage) - a serious complication of diabetes that leads to sensations of pain and/or numbness, tingling or "pins and needles" in the feet and hands - only a small minority have been diagnosed with this condition.

10 May 2005

Jefferson vascular surgeons go on web to demonstrate less invasive treatment than vein stripping for varicose veins

Stripping is a lengthy procedure often performed under general anesthesia and requires a surgeon to make incisions in the groin and below the knee and remove the vein with a long, surgical instrument extending inside the leg to the knee.

10 May 2005

Parkinson's drug Mirapex accused of causing gambling addiction

A drug prescribed to millions of patients in the U.S. as a treatment for Parkinson's disease and other conditions, has allegedly turned some patients into gambling addicts.

9 May 2005

Children are more likely to be awake during surgery than adults

New groundbreaking Australian research has discovered that children are more likely to be awake during surgery than adults.

9 May 2005

Episiotomy usually provides no benefits

According to a systematic review of existing studies, to appear in the May 4 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, the surgical procedure known as an episiotomy, performed in up to 35 percent of U.S. vaginal births, usually provides no benefits.

5 May 2005

Serious concerns about the use of morphine in heart patients

While patients hospitalized for a heart attack have long been treated with morphine to relieve chest pain, an analysis by researchers from the Duke Clinical Research Institute has shown that these patients have almost a 50 percent higher risk of dying.

5 May 2005