Pain News and Research

Latest Pain News and Research

Prescriptions on the rise for strongest pain pills

High-strength painkillers known as opioids represent the most widely prescribed class of medications in the United States.

9 Apr 2012

Bioness commences StimRouter Neuromodulation System study for chronic peripheral nerve pain

Bioness Inc. today announced the initiation of a study to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the company's StimRouter Neuromodulation System for those suffering from chronic peripheral nerve pain. This prospective, multi-center, randomized, double-blinded, partial crossover study will enroll 126 patients at up to 10 study sites throughout the United States.

9 Apr 2012

NIH awards Winston SBIR grant to develop Civamide for postherpetic neuralgia of TN

Winston Pharmaceuticals, Inc.,, announced that the National Institutes of Health has awarded Winston a grant under the Small Business Innovation Research program supporting the development of Civamide, a proprietary TRPV-1 receptor modulator, for the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia of the trigeminal nerve.

9 Apr 2012

First Edition: April 9, 2012

In today's headlines, reports about how both Democrats and Republicans are working to woo Seniors -- Medicare politices are central to this effort.

9 Apr 2012

Pacira launches EXPAREL in the U.S.

Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the commercial launch of EXPAREL (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension) in the United States. Starting today, EXPAREL will begin shipping to hospital and ambulatory care customers through their normal wholesaler and distributor channels.

9 Apr 2012

Viewpoints: An 'easy' SCOTUS case?; Is painkiller addiction really an epidemic?

Nothing in the Supreme Court arguments in the health care case last week, or in the subsequent commentary, has changed my opinion that this is an easy case. It's the court that made it look hard (Linda Greenhouse, 4/4).

7 Apr 2012

Operation UNITE receives praises for National Rx Drug Abuse Summit

Ameritox, the nation's leader in pain medication monitoring, commends Unlawful Narcotics Investigations, Treatment and Education, Inc. (Operation UNITE), the organizers of the inaugural National Rx Drug Abuse Summit, on its coordination of a national forum to address the prescription drug abuse epidemic. The Summit will be held April 10-12 in Orlando, Florida.

7 Apr 2012

Heart Rhythm Journal manuscript by Dr. Hauser inaccurate and biased, says St. Jude Medical

St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, today announced it is seeking a retraction of the manuscript accepted for publication in the Heart Rhythm Journal by Dr. Robert Hauser, et al., titled, "Deaths Caused by the Failure of Riata and Riata ST Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Leads."

7 Apr 2012

Swedish Neuroscience Institute to open new MS Center

Swedish Neuroscience Institute (SNI) will open its new MS Center at Swedish to patients on April 9. Carefully designed for easy accessibility and to promote the well-being of people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), the new 11,700-square-foot center gives SNI the ability to consolidate all of its MS services into one facility.

7 Apr 2012

Alternative therapy for knee surgery from The Pain Whisperer

Jeremy Lin is scheduled to undergo surgery for his knee within the week and will be down for six weeks, ending his season. Tom Chi, also known as The Pain Whisperer and star of the upcoming reality TV series of the same name, offers a remarkable alternative therapy to this type of surgery.

7 Apr 2012

State roundup: Health costs cloud forecast for state budgets; Minnesota to use HMO refund on personal care

U.S. state and local governments' fiscal situations have improved recently but will still deteriorate through 2060, the Government Accountability Office said on Thursday. ... The outlook remains gloomy for the future, with healthcare costs, both for public employees and for the Medicaid insurance program for the poor, swelling and weighing on budgets, GAO said.

7 Apr 2012

C8 MediSensors seeks CE Mark Approval for Optical Glucose Monitor

C8 MediSensors, Inc., the leader in developing non-invasive continuous glucose monitoring for people with diabetes, announced today that it has filed for CE mark approval to market the C8 MediSensors Optical Glucose Monitor in Europe. The monitor is currently an adjunct investigational device.

7 Apr 2012

NIMH honors SUNY Downstate professor with MERIT award

Todd C. Sacktor, M.D., distinguished professor of physiology and pharmacology and of neurology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, has received a MERIT (Method to Extend Research in Time) award from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) for his research on memory.

7 Apr 2012

Lilly, Avid receive FDA approval for Amyvid to treat Alzheimer's

Eli Lilly and Company and Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Lilly, today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of Amyvid, a radioactive diagnostic agent indicated for brain imaging of beta-amyloid plaques in patients with cognitive impairment who are being evaluated for Alzheimer's Disease and other causes of cognitive decline.

7 Apr 2012

Teva's ANDA for Provigil entitled to 180-day exclusivity

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announces that the FDA has decided that its wholly owned subsidiary, Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, is sole first-to-file for both Orange Book patents listed for Provigil (modafinil) and therefore Teva's ANDA alone is entitled to 180-day exclusivity.

6 Apr 2012

First Edition: April 6, 2012

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including the Obama administration's response to a federal court about the Supreme Court's power.

6 Apr 2012

Poultry producers still use FDA-banned antibiotics

In a joint study, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Arizona State University found evidence suggesting that a class of antibiotics previously banned by the U.S. government for poultry production is still in use. Results of the study were published March 21 in Environmental Science & Technology.

6 Apr 2012

Regeneron, Sanofi announce clinical and regulatory update for ZALTRAP

Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Priority Review of the Biologics License Application (BLA) for the investigational agent ZALTRAP (aflibercept) concentrate for solution for infusion in combination with the irinotecan-fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) previously treated with an oxaliplatin-containing regimen.

6 Apr 2012

Methylphenidate may help induce recovery from propofol anesthesia

The ability of the commonly used stimulant methylphenidate (Ritalin) to speed recovery from general anesthesia appears to apply both to the inhaled gas isoflurane, as previously reported, and to the intravenous drug propofol. Members of the same Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) research team that reported the isoflurane study are publishing similar results for propofol in the May issue of Anesthesiology, and their paper has been issued online.

6 Apr 2012

Medicaid news: Oregon competitors working together; Calif. 'duals' project launches

A new push to reshape health care in greater Portland is reminiscent, its biggest booster says, of the race to land a man on the moon. Erstwhile health care competitors hope to set aside their differences to care for the region's 200,000 Oregon Health Plan members, says Legacy Health CEO George Brown. The task is happening in a timeline -- Brown snaps his fingers -- "that's like that long. It's a moon shot for sure. What we're trying to do, to my knowledge, has not been attempted any place in the country."

6 Apr 2012