Pain News and Research

Latest Pain News and Research

Viewpoints: ACOs are doomed to fail; The need to expand Medicaid in Texas; The case against malpractice changes in Iowa

Spurred by the Affordable Care Act, hundreds of pilot programs called Accountable Care Organizations have been launched over the past year, affecting tens of millions on Medicare and many who have commercial health insurance.

21 Feb 2013

Osteopontin plays a role in X-linked hypophosphatemia

Diagnosed in toddlers, X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH) is the most common form of heritable rickets, in which soft bones bend and deform, and tooth abscesses develop because infections penetrate soft teeth that are not properly calcified. Researchers at McGill University and the Federal University of Sao Paulo have identified that osteopontin, a major bone and tooth substrate protein, plays a role in XLH. Their discovery may pave the way to effectively treating this rare disease.

21 Feb 2013

NIAID-funded Phase I trial to evaluate two related candidate vaccines against shigellosis

Researchers have launched an early-stage human clinical trial of two related candidate vaccines to prevent infection with Shigella, bacteria that are a significant cause of diarrheal illness, particularly among children.

21 Feb 2013

Immune Pharmaceuticals commences Phase II study with bertilimumab to treat ulcerative colitis

Immune Pharmaceuticals Ltd., a privately held Israeli company, and EpiCept Corporation announced today that Immune is initiating, following authorization from Israeli health authorities, a Phase II double-blind placebo controlled study with its lead drug, bertilimumab, in patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis.

21 Feb 2013

Dabigatran decreases risk of recurrent venous thromboembolism

New findings from two double-blind, randomized trials, RE-MEDY and RE-SONATE, show that dabigatran 150 mg twice daily reduces the risk of recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE).

21 Feb 2013

UCB seeks FDA and EMA marketing authorization for Cimzia to treat active psoriatic arthritis

UCB announced today two new regulatory filings with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to extend the marketing authorization for Cimzia (certolizumab pegol) for the treatment of adult patients with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and for adult patients with active axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA).

20 Feb 2013

Dog owners concerned about daily living with osteoarthritis

Carprofen for the treatment of dogs with osteoarthiritis significantly improves owner-assessed chronic pain as well as lameness compared with placebo, show US study results.

20 Feb 2013

Growth in opioid use prompts safety concerns

Prescriptions for opioid drugs have increased significantly in Germany over the past decade, a survey of insurance data has found.

20 Feb 2013

Symptom severity, hospice patient distress not necessarily linked

End-stage heart failure patients being treated in hospices have multiple symptoms with potential to cause distress, indicate US study findings.

20 Feb 2013

Ark., N.Y. head in opposite directions on abortion regulation

Arkansas and New York are states headed in opposite directions on new abortion regulation: Arkansas's Senate passes a bill banning the procedure after 20 weeks while New York's governor works on legislation guaranteeing access to late-term abortions.

20 Feb 2013

Researchers suggest that fibromyalgia is a spectrum disorder

Researchers have determined that fibromyalgia prevalence is 2.1% of the general population in Germany. Results appearing in Arthritis Care & Research, a journal published by Wiley on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), suggest that fibromyalgia is a spectrum disorder rather than a categorical illness.

20 Feb 2013

Meloxicam recognizes and treats osteoarthritis in cats

Scientists at the University of Montreal's Quebec Research Group in Animal Pharmacology have found a way to recognize and treat osteoarthritis in cats - a condition that the owner might not notice and that can make even petting painful.

20 Feb 2013

Therapy to ease QOL issues improves patients' sense of well-being during cancer treatment

Therapy to ease stress, fatigue and other quality of life issues significantly improves patients' sense of well-being during cancer treatment, new Mayo Clinic research shows. Patients who kept to their standard routines showed a decline in quality-of-life measures, the study found. The findings are published this month in Cancer.

19 Feb 2013

Three characteristic emotions cause babies to cry

Spanish researchers have studied adults' accuracy in the recognition of the emotion causing babies to cry. Eye movement and the dynamic of the cry play a key role in recognition.

19 Feb 2013

Coronary computed tomography angiography effectively determines risk of heart attacks

Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is an effective tool for determining the risk of heart attacks and other adverse cardiac events in patients with suspected coronary artery disease but no treatable risk factors, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology.

19 Feb 2013

Outcomes no better with epidural steroids for patients with spinal stenosis

For patients with spinal stenosis, epidural steroid injections (ESI) may actually lead to worse outcomes-whether or not the patient later undergoes surgery, according to a study in the February 15 issue of Spine. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

19 Feb 2013

Tranylcypromine may also hold promise in treating sickle cell disease

An antidepressant drug used since the 1960s may also hold promise for treating sickle cell disease, according to a surprising new finding made in mice and human red blood cells by a team from the University of Michigan Medical School.

19 Feb 2013

Study investigates whether music therapy reduces stress in cancer patients

A Saint Louis University Cancer Center pilot study is investigating whether music affects the health of cancer patients by soothing them and making them less anxious.

19 Feb 2013

NeuroMetrix fourth quarter total revenues decrease to $1.5 million

NeuroMetrix, Inc., a medical device company focused on the diagnosis and treatment of the neurological complications of diabetes, today reported business and financial highlights for the quarter and twelve months ended December 31, 2012.

19 Feb 2013

Chiasma, Roche enter agreement to develop and commercialize Octreolin

Roche and Chiasma Inc., a privately held biopharma company, announced today that they have entered into an agreement to develop and commercialize Chiasma's proprietary product Octreolin, initially for acromegaly and subsequently for neuroendocrine tumors.

19 Feb 2013