Pain News and Research

Latest Pain News and Research

First Edition: June 15, 2012

Today's headlines include the latest on how the White House and congressional lawmakers are bracing for the Supreme Court's health law decision.

15 Jun 2012

Colorado and Alabama leaders offer different views on health law decision

Colorado's governor says the state will continue to build its insurance exchange and to advance other elements of the health law regardless of the Supreme Court's ruling. Meanwhile, Alabama's attorney general predicts the court will strike down the law.

15 Jun 2012

DFINE completes initial phase of STAR Tumor Ablation System trial

DFINE, Inc., the developer of minimally invasive radiofrequency (RF) targeted therapies for the treatment of vertebral pathologies, today announced an upcoming poster presentation at the World Congress of Interventional Oncology (WCIO), June 14-18 in Chicago.

15 Jun 2012

Osiris receives consent from NZ to market Prochymal for GvHD

Osiris Therapeutics, Inc., announced today it has received consent from New Zealand to market its first-in-class stem cell therapy Prochymal (remestemcel-L), for the treatment of acute graft-vs-host disease (GvHD) in children.

15 Jun 2012

Positive top-line results from Teva’s GALA Phase III trial on RRMS

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. today announced positive top-line results from the GALA (Glatiramer Acetate Low-Frequency Administration) Phase III clinical trial assessing the efficacy, safety and tolerability of 40 mg/1 ml glatiramer acetate injection (GA) administered subcutaneously three times a week compared to placebo in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients.

15 Jun 2012

Third Rock Ventures announces formation of Global Blood Therapeutics

Third Rock Ventures, LLC today announced the formation of Global Blood Therapeutics, Inc. and its $40.7 million Series A financing of the company.

15 Jun 2012

Roundup: Calpers rate hike approved; Painkiller databases slow abuse in Mass., Minn.; Health workers authorize strike in Philly

The California Public Employees' Retirement System, the third-largest purchaser of health benefits in the country, approved a 9.6 percent increase in health premiums next year for its nearly 1.3 million members.

15 Jun 2012

FDA approves GSK’s MenHibrix to treat meningococcal and Hib diseases

GlaxoSmithKline plc announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the vaccine MenHibrix [Meningococcal Groups C and Y and Haemophilus b Tetanus Toxoid Conjugate Vaccine].

15 Jun 2012

FDA approves Menhibrix for vaccination against meningococcal and Hib diseases

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Menhibrix, a combination vaccine for infants and children ages 6 weeks through 18 months, for prevention of invasive disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroups C and Yand Haemophilus influenzae type b.

15 Jun 2012

Prior chemotherapy extends postpalliative survival in pancreatic cancer

Patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer have a more favorable prognosis after palliative chemoradiotherapy if they have previously been treated with a gemcitabine-based therapy, say Danish researchers.

14 Jun 2012

Osteoporosis self-reports unreliable measure for case defintions

Self-reports of incident osteoporosis in middle-aged and older women should not be relied on for a case definition, suggest study findings showing poor-to-moderate validity for this measure.

14 Jun 2012

Updated survival data from Takeda’s brentuximab vedotin Phase II trial on HL

Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, today announced updated survival data from a pivotal Phase II clinical trial of single-agent brentuximab vedotin in patients with relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) after autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) showing that the median overall survival has not been reached after a 26.5 month median follow-up.

14 Jun 2012

Multipronged approach relieves osteoarthritis pain

Using behavioral weight-management strategies alongside standard pain-coping skills training reduces the level of disability and pain experienced by overweight or obese individuals with osteoarthritis, US study results suggest.

13 Jun 2012

A father's love contributes more to a child's development

A father's love contributes as much - and sometimes more - to a child's development as does a mother's love. That is one of many findings in a new large-scale analysis of research about the power of parental rejection and acceptance in shaping our personalities as children and into adulthood.

13 Jun 2012

Controlled blood sugar in diabetes can prevent painful nerves: but at what cost?

Aggressive control of blood sugar levels in diabetes can help to prevent a painful condition affecting patients’ nerves, according to a new systematic review in The Cochrane Library. However, the review suggests that optimal target levels need to be established to prevent serious complications.

13 Jun 2012

OpenAnesthesia shows phenomenal success, exponential growth

Since its launch in 2009, the open-access website OpenAnesthesia.org has developed into a popular and powerful tool for spreading up-to-date knowledge in anesthesiology, according to a special editorial in the July issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

13 Jun 2012

iWalk announces availability of BiOM bionic lower limb system for above-knee amputees

iWalk, the personal bionics company advancing technology to restore natural movement for lower-limb amputees, today announced the availability of its BiOM bionic lower limb system for above-knee amputees.

13 Jun 2012

14-3-3 zeta protein involved in generating chronic pain

Researchers in France and Sweden have discovered how one of the body's own proteins is involved in generating chronic pain in rats. The results, which also suggest therapeutic interventions to alleviate long-lasting pain, are reported in The EMBO Journal.

13 Jun 2012

Utah-based company licenses new biomedical device from BYU for chronic back pain

In between the vertebrae of the human spine are 23 Oreo-sized, cartilage-filled discs that hold the vertebrae together and allow for spine movement. While the discs are critical for movement, they can become the source of back pain when they degenerate or herniate - a major health problem that affects 85% of Americans and drains the U.S. economy to the tune of $100 billion every year.

13 Jun 2012

Acorda commences AMPYRA clinical study for post-stoke deficits

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that the first patient has been enrolled in a proof-of-concept study exploring the use of AMPYRA(dalfampridine) Extended Release Tablets, 10 mg in treating patients who have post-stroke deficits.

13 Jun 2012