Pain News and Research

Latest Pain News and Research

Minorities with MS may face risk of developing depressive symptoms

Multiple sclerosis can cause significant physical impairment, including fatigue, pain, muscle spasms, tremors and dizziness. For many with MS, the disease wreaks havoc with emotional well-being, too, and according to a new study, minorities might especially be at risk for developing depressive symptoms.

23 Dec 2010

FDA joins Abbott Diabetes Careto to recall 359 glucose test strips

The test strips being recalled may give falsely low blood glucose results. False results may lead patients to try to raise their blood glucose unnecessarily, or they may fail to treat elevated blood glucose because of a false, low reading. Both scenarios pose risks to a patient's health.

22 Dec 2010

Researchers receive $100,000 NFL grant to study tissue engineering for spinal injuries

Researchers from Cornell University and Weill Cornell Medical College have been awarded $100,000 by NFL Charities, the charitable foundation of the National Football League owners, to research tissue engineering for spinal injuries.

22 Dec 2010

Spinal Botox injection reduces pain

Botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNT/A)—better known as Botox—reduces responses to an inflammation-related pain stimulus when injected into the spinal canal in mice, reports a study in the January issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

22 Dec 2010

Genmed obtains marketing authorization license for paracetamol in Europe

Genmed Holding Corp. is announcing its entry into the European generic drug market with the receipt of its first marketing and distribution license for paracetamol. Also known as acetaminophen, paracetamol is an over-the-counter drug used to treat mild to moderate pain from headaches, backaches, osteoarthritis, and to reduce fever.

22 Dec 2010

Smoking can increase pain severity in cancer patients

The relationship between smoking and cancer is well established. In a study published in the January 2011 issue of PAIN, researchers report evidence to suggest that cancer patients who continue to smoke despite their diagnosis experience greater pain than nonsmokers.

22 Dec 2010

Chronic fatigue syndrome not linked to virus

The latest research from the University College London, the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, and University of Oxford, England suggests that chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is not caused by the virus XMRV (xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus). The team says that earlier research that linked the virus to CFS was faulty because of contamination of mouse cell DNA samples in the laboratory.

21 Dec 2010

Gym injury prevention advice for the New Year

The American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) has a message for previously sedentary Americans who will head to the gym this New Year: take it slow. Stress fractures are the most common overuse injuries of the foot and ankle. They occur with a rapid increase in physical activity (too much too quickly). Stress fractures result from a series of loading and unloading cycles that cause damage to the bone. If these forces continue and the bone is not able to repair itself fast enough, a fracture may occur.

21 Dec 2010

Halt Medical presents results of Halt Fibroid Study at NIH Global Fibroid Congress

Women suffering from uterine fibroids, a debilitating condition that affects more than seven million women in the U.S., may soon have reason for hope. Halt Medical, a biomedical company based in the San Francisco Bay Area, is developing a minimally invasive procedure for treating the condition. The company recently presented their findings from studies in Latin America at the NIH Global Fibroid Congress.

21 Dec 2010

Training more effective than anti-inflammatory drugs in treating tennis elbow

Training and ergonomic advice are more effective than anti-inflammatory drugs and cortisone injections in treating tennis elbow, and give fewer side effects. This is the conclusion of a thesis presented at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

21 Dec 2010

Biomet Biologics completes enrollment in Recover Kit clinical trial for chronic tennis elbow

Biomet, Inc., a global leader in the manufacture of orthopedic and biotechnology products, announced today that its subsidiary, Biomet Biologics, LLC, has completed the required 230 subject enrollment for its Recover® Kit clinical trial. This clinical trial studies the use of the Recover® Kit device, which produces autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to treat chronic tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis).

21 Dec 2010

VistaGen reports successful completion of AV-101 Phase 1 safety study for neuropathic pain

VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc., a stem cell technology company focused on drug discovery and development, today announced the successful completion of its initial Phase 1 safety study of AV-101, the Company's novel orally available prodrug candidate for treatment of neuropathic pain. Neuropathic pain, a serious and chronic condition causing pain after an injury or disease of the peripheral or central nervous system, affects approximately 1.8 million people in the U.S.

20 Dec 2010

Britain’s NHS falls short in providing services

British patients are being denied routine procedures varying from hip replacements, to cataract removal and wisdom tooth extraction as trusts are cutting back on surgeries and diagnostic procedures to save money. There is also a restriction preventing patients undergoing procedures for lifestyle reasons and those considered “low priority”. This includes obesity surgeries, mild varicose veins, fertility treatments, back injections for pain, hip and knee replacement in obese patients etc.

20 Dec 2010

Brilinta – AstraZeneca’s new blood thinner faces FDA hurdle

AstraZeneca’s new blood thinner that was pitched against Plavix, the world’s second-best selling drug failed to live up to expectations making stocks drop to a two year low, the steepest decline since Nov. 21, 2008, and the worst performance today on the 18-company Bloomberg Europe Pharmaceutical Index.

20 Dec 2010

Forest acquires all rights held by Gruenenthal for colistin

The Gruenenthal Group and Forest Laboratories, Inc., today announced that Forest Healthcare B.V., a wholly owned subsidiary of Forest Laboratories, Inc. and Gruenenthal GmbH, have entered into an agreement whereby Forest has acquired all rights currently held by Gruenenthal for colistin and all rights previously licensed by Forest to Gruenenthal for Colobreathe.

20 Dec 2010

OXIS International files patent application to strengthen Ergothioneine intellectual property portfolio

OXIS International, Inc., today announced that is has filed a patent application titled "Methods and Compositions Using Ergothioneine to Treat a Variety of Health Related Factors" with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

20 Dec 2010

King submits ACUROX NDA to FDA

King Pharmaceuticals®, Inc. and Acura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that King has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) for ACUROX® (oxycodone HCl) Tablets to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), including a request for priority review classification. ACUROX® is an immediate release tablet containing oxycodone HCl intended for the relief of moderate to severe pain.

20 Dec 2010

Icagen, Pfizer commence Nav1.7 Phase I clinical studies for pain and related disorders

Icagen, Inc. today provided an update on its sodium channel program for pain and related disorders, which is being conducted in collaboration with Pfizer. As previously reported, the companies recently selected a candidate compound to advance into further clinical studies. Dosing of this candidate compound has now been initiated in a Phase I study in healthy volunteers.

20 Dec 2010

Exciting progress made in MS research during 2010

Exciting advances were made in 2010 in virtually every field of MS research. Progress toward finding new therapies for MS is illustrated by the availability of the first oral disease-modifying therapy for MS. Progress was also made toward finding ways to restore function and improving quality of life and specific MS symptoms through exercise, meditation, rehabilitation and medications, including the first therapy specifically approved to treat a symptom of MS (Ampyra).

20 Dec 2010

Take charge of your medical tests

Whether you're healthy or ill, there are a variety of medical tests your health care team might recommend for you. A yearly checkup often includes routine tests such as blood sugar and cholesterol levels, vision and hearing assessments, tests for heart functioning and others used to monitor a chronic condition—such as a lung function test for those with asthma.

20 Dec 2010