Pain News and Research

Latest Pain News and Research

Pain medication abuse soars

The Associated Press: "A new government study finds a 400 percent increase in the number of people admitted to treatment for abusing prescription pain medication. The increase in substance abuse among people ages 12 and older was recorded during the 10-year-period from 1998 to 2008. It spans every gender, race, ethnicity, education and employment level, and all regions of the country" (7/15).

17 Jul 2010

Hospitals fight for primary care docs as bad nurses allowed to continue work

Orlando Sentinel: For primary care specialties, residency programs fight to capture the attention of potential residents who are in high demand.

17 Jul 2010

Personal injury lawsuit filed against Zimmer over defective hip implant

Kent L. Klaudt, a partner in the national plaintiffs' law firm Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, announced that James Cabral today filed a personal injury lawsuit against Zimmer Inc., the nation's largest producer of orthopedic devices. Cabral has suffered constant and devastating pain for over 18 months and will have to undergo a second hip replacement surgery due to an allegedly defective hip implant manufactured and sold by Zimmer under the brand name Durom Cup.

17 Jul 2010

Research Roundups: Health IT progress; Telecare and cancer pain; State exchanges; Adults with no medical care

eHealth/Commonwealth Fund: National Progress Report On eHealth - This extensive report examines changes in the adoption and use of health information technology (HIT) since 2007, as assessed by a group of more than 100 experts.

17 Jul 2010

First Edition: July 16, 2010

Indiana's Medicaid chief told lawmakers Thursday that the federal government has largely left states in the dark on implementing the federal health care overhaul because it hasn't yet provided needed guidelines (The Associated Press).

16 Jul 2010

VHI publishes new patient satisfaction ratings of Virginia hospitals

Virginia Health Information (VHI) publishes hospital patient satisfaction ratings at www.vhi.org. This new report provides patients' views of hospital conditions, care received and how they felt about the doctors and nurses taking care of them. Hospital care affects millions of Virginians and their families. Consumers familiar with satisfaction ratings for cars and other products can now compare hospitals close to their home or across Virginia.

16 Jul 2010

Treatment admissions for abuse of prescription pain relievers increases by over 400%: Study

The proportion of all substance abuse treatment admissions of those aged 12 and older involving abuse of prescription pain relievers rose by over 400 percent from 2.2 percent in 1998 to 9.8 percent in 2008 according to a new study be the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). This dramatic rise in the proportion of admissions associated with the abuse of these drugs occurred among nearly all segments of the population regardless of age, gender, educational level and employment status.

16 Jul 2010

Study shows high rate of return to pre-injury level of function with arthroscopic treatment

Athletes who undergo arthroscopic surgery for a mechanical disorder of the hip have a good chance of being able to return to their sport at a high level of competition, according to a study that will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, held July 15-18 in Providence, R.I. Almost 80 percent of patients were able to return to play after hip arthroscopy at an average of 9.4 months after surgery, and roughly 90 percent were able to return to the same level of competition.

16 Jul 2010

AAOS releases evidence-based clinical practice guideline for treating glenohumeral joint osteoarthritis

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons has approved and released an evidence-based clinical practice guideline on "The Treatment of Glenohumeral Joint Osteoarthritis." This major joint in the shoulder - the ball and socket joint - is sometimes affected by osteoarthritis, causing pain, loss of function, and reduced quality of life.

16 Jul 2010

Diamyd Medical receives US Federal Trade Commission's antitrust clearance

Diamyd Medical AB has received antitrust clearance that closes the transaction announced on June 22, 2010 with Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OMJPI), a Johnson & Johnson company.

16 Jul 2010

Spanish scientists develop new parasite detection method to prevent Anisakidosis

A new method enables anisakids to be detected in any fish product, from a whole fish, fresh or frozen, to tinned fish and surimi. Developed by Spanish scientists, the system is based on molecular techniques and overcomes the limitations of traditional procedures.

16 Jul 2010

Columbia scientists discover new way to alleviate chronic pain

Columbia scientists working to combat injury-related depression, substance abuse and suicide due to unremitting, persistent pain may have discovered a new way of treating that pain: a powerful analgesic dubbed N60 that leads to neither tolerance nor addiction.

16 Jul 2010

An overview of heart palpitations from Mayo Clinic

Almost everyone feels occasional heart palpitations -- a change in the heart's rhythm. Palpitations range from what feels like a skip, flip or bump in the heart's rhythm to a sustained, racing heartbeat.

16 Jul 2010

High blood pressure, diabetes leads to CKD

People with diabetes and high blood pressure need to take care of their kidneys. According to the July issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource, chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a growing problem in the United States. The most common causes are diabetes and high blood pressure

16 Jul 2010

NIH announces 5 more years of funding for Consortium of Food Allergy Research

Today, the National Institutes of Health announce that the Consortium of Food Allergy Research (CoFAR), established in 2005, will be funded for five more years. CoFAR will continue to foster new approaches to prevent and treat food allergies and also expand in scope to include research on the genetic causes underlying food allergy and studies of food allergy-associated eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases (EGIDs).

15 Jul 2010

New circular external fixator device for diabetic Charcot foot treatment

The alarming increase of morbidly obese diabetics is causing more new cases of a debilitating foot deformity called Charcot foot.Charcot foot can make walking difficult or impossible, and in severe cases can require amputation.But a surgical technique that secures foot bones with an external frame has enabled more than 90 percent of patients to walk normally again.

15 Jul 2010

Black tea consumption can pose problems to heavy tea drinkers

Black tea, a Southern staple and the world's most consumed beverage, may contain higher concentrations of fluoride than previously thought, which could pose problems for the heaviest tea drinkers.

15 Jul 2010

New REMESENSE TOOTH DESENSITIZER for treating tooth hypersensitivity

Nuline Pharmaceuticals, LLC announces the introduction of REMESENSE (dipotassium oxalate 3%) TOOTH DESENSITIZER, an Rx Class II medical device now available in the U.S. REMESENSE was introduced globally in 2008. It is presently sold in 16 countries, ranging from England and the European Union to Asia and Africa. Nuline expects to launch REMESENSE in Canada and other countries later this year or by early 2011.

15 Jul 2010

Hospital for Special Surgery named top hospital for orthopedics

Hospital for Special Surgery has been named the top hospital in the nation for orthopedics by U.S. News & World Report in its 2010 "America's Best Hospitals" issue. Once again the hospital ranked as a leader in rheumatology at number 3 in the nation. In addition, neurology was ranked at number 16.

15 Jul 2010

Trevena completes $35M Series B financing

Trevena, Inc., the leader in discovery and development of G-protein coupled receptor biased ligands, announced today that it has completed a $35 million Series B financing. Existing investors Polaris Venture Partners and New Enterprise Associates led the round, with all other existing Trevena investors - Alta Partners, Healthcare Ventures and Yasuda Enterprise Development Company - also participating in the financing.

14 Jul 2010