Breaking
News
This section includes a wide variety of pain management stories, arranged by date and type (not significance), which have appeared in the popular media (print, broadcast, and on-line) in the last month. Because of the volume of stories, only the first few are included on the main page. Be sure to click on "More Stories" at the bottom of each front page section.
Pain Studies In The News
Shingles sends 1 million to U.S. doctors each year
January 9, 2008
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Shingles sends nearly 1 million Americans to their doctors every year seeking relief from the painful symptoms the virus causes, according to U.S. government statistics released on Wednesday. The average cost for treating shingles is $525 per person or $566 million each year in 2005 dollars. Story
Dual therapy improves endometriosis pain control
January 8, 2008
Hormone suppression and diet therapy can relieve pain in women with endometriosis who undergo conservative therapy. Story
More Pain Studies In The News
Pain Stories In The News
Physicians gain new tool to better manage acute and chronic pain
January 9, 2008
The Federation of State Medical Boards Research and Education Foundation is offering every physician a new handbook to help them better manage patients' acute or chronic pain. Responsible Opioid Prescribing: A Physician's Guide offers real-world explanations and practical strategies that address issues of undertreatment of pain, risk of prescription drug abuse and improved patient care. Story
Chronic facial pain-before pulling that tooth, call your doctor’s office
January 8, 2008
The best way to identify trigeminal neuralgia is with a conversation between the patient and healthcare provider, describing the comprehensive history of symptoms. Once diagnosed, the initial treatment is anti-convulsants such as carbamazepine and gabapentin. Story
More Pain Stories In The News
Policy and Law
Texas Medical Board reviews rules concerning Pain Management
The Texas Medical Board proposes to review Chapter 170, §§170.1 -
170.3, concerning Pain Management, pursuant to the Texas Government
Code, §2001.039. The agency’s reason for adopting the rules contained in this chapter
continues to exist. Comments on the proposed review may be submitted to Sally
Durocher, P.O. Box 2018, Austin, Texas 78768-2018.
Comment Deadline: 01/20/2008
Limits on damages for pain are upheld by Ohio Supreme Court: Court affirms 2004 law
In a decision hailed by the business community and decried by trial lawyers, the Ohio Supreme Court yesterday upheld a controversial 2004 state law limiting damages for pain, suffering, and other non-economic damages in product liability and other lawsuits. Story
More Policy and Law Stories In The News
Prescription Addiction, Diversion, and Abuse
Issue of drugs and pain strikes a nerve
January 1, 2008
Washington state became a battlefront in the pain war earlier this year when a group of state agency medical directors, in consultation with practicing pain specialists, issued voluntary guidelines to physicians for prescribing opioids for noncancer pain. The state's chief recommendation is that doctors limit the total opioid dose to the equivalent of 120 milligrams of morphine a day. The dosing guideline is about half the maximum average daily dose of 250 milligrams taken in recent years by injured workers and Medicaid clients with chronic, noncancer pain, according to some sources. Story
For Your Patients
Proper training early can help young pitchers avoid shoulder problems
December 14, 2007
Young pitchers should begin working out in December to help avoid developing shoulder problems during the upcoming season. Most high school athletes go from football to basketball and then start throwing a baseball at full speed.. The problem is that their arms are not in baseball shape, and they open themselves up to serious rotator cuff problems. Story
Choosing Pain Medicine for Osteoarthritis: A Guide for Consumers (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)
December 5, 2007
A guide to help consumers work with their doctors or nurses to choose pain-relief medicine for osteoarthritis. This guide is based on a government-funded review of the research about pain-relief medicines for osteoarthritis. It includes over-the-counter medications and some prescription drugs. It also gives information about the trade-offs between pain relief, risks of side-effects, and the price of the medications. Full Text (English)
A guide to help consumers work with their doctors or nurses to choose pain-relief medicine for osteoarthritis. This guide is based on a government-funded review of the research about pain-relief medicines for osteoarthritis. It includes over-the-counter medications and some prescription drugs. It also gives information about the trade-offs between pain relief, risks of side-effects, and the price of the medications. Full Text (Spanish)
News From Industry Sources
Forest and Cypress announce submission of new drug application for milnacipran for the treatment of fibromyalgia syndrome
December 31,2007
Milnacipran is a unique dual-reuptake inhibitor, which preferentially blocks the reuptake of norepinephrine with higher potency than serotonin, two neurotransmitters known to play an essential role in regulating pain and mood. It has been approved for a non-pain condition in over 50 countries Story
Endo announces positive results from interim analysis of RAPINYL phase III clinical trial
December 17, 2007
The data from the Endo Pharmaceuticals study of 61 patients demonstrated that RAPINYL met its primary endpoint, the Sum of Pain Intensity Difference from baseline to 30 minutes (SPID 0-30), and the results were highly statistically significant (p=0.0004). In addition, all the secondary endpoints were met. Statistically significant separation from placebo on mean pain intensity difference was seen as early as 10 minutes. Story
More News From Industry Sources
New Books
Pain and Its Transformations: The Interface of Biology and Culture
Sarah Coakley and Kay Kaufman Shelemay, eds.
Cambridge, MA; Harvard University Press, 2007
This ambitious interdisciplinary book includes not only essays but also discussions among a wide range of specialists. Neuroscientists, psychiatrists, anthropologists, musicologists, and scholars of religion examine the ways that meditation, music, prayer, and ritual can mediate pain, offer a narrative that transcends the sufferer, and give public dignity to private agony. They discuss topics as disparate as the molecular basis of pain, the controversial status of gate control theory, the possible links between the relaxation response and meditative practices in Christianity and Buddhism, and the mediation of pain and intense emotion in music, dance, and ritual. The authors conclude by pondering the place of pain in understanding--or the human failure to understand--good and evil in history.
Table of Contents and Introduction
Index
Responsible Opioid Prescribing: A Physician's Guide
Fishman, Scott M.
Dallas, TX: Federation of State Medical Boards, 2007
Responsible Opioid Prescribing offers physicians effective strategies for reducing the risk of addiction, abuse and diversion of opioids that they prescribe for their patients in pain. This concise handbook translates the Federation of State Medical Board's Model Policy for the Use of Controlled Substances for the Treatment of Pain into pragmatic steps for risk reduction and improved patient care, including.
Table of Contents and Introduction
Index
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