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

Massage therapy helps manage pain in children with sickle cell disease
August 12, 2009 Source: Nationwide Children's Hospital
A recent study measured the effects of massage in children with Sickle Cell Disease in a home setting. Eighteen of patients’ parents were trained by massage therapists, while 16 participants were used as a control group. They found children in the experimental group were significantly less depressed, less anxious and suffered from less pain after receiving massages from their parents. Story

Chinese acupuncture affects brain's ability to regulate pain, UM study shows
August 9, 2009 Source: Journal of NeuroImage
Using brain imaging, a University of Michigan study is the first to provide evidence that traditional Chinese acupuncture affects the brain's long-term ability to regulate pain. In the study, researchers at the U-M Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center showed acupuncture increased the binding availability of mu-opoid receptors (MOR) in regions of the brain that process and dampen pain signals – specifically the cingulate, insula, caudate, thalamus and amygdala. Opioid painkillers, such as morphine, codeine and other medications, are thought to work by binding to these opioid receptors in the brain and spinal cord. Story

More Pain Studies In The News

Pain Stories In The News

Fibromyalgia: debilitating but treatable with chiropractic care
August 6, 2009 Source: The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress
While fibromyalgia, a medically unexplained syndrome affecting the muscles and connective tissues, responds to various treatments, chiropractic care in particular has grown sharply in popularity among the millions of sufferers for dramatically reducing chronic, widespread pain and restoring patients to healthier lives. Fibromyalgia involves turmoil of the central nervous system, yielding a situation known as central sensitization, which causes heightened nervous system responses Overall health and wellness is affected by an individual’s nervous system, an area in which chiropractors are proficiently trained to address, making chiropractic care a viable option for fibromyalgia patients. Story

New interventional pain management guidelines released by the American Society Of Interventional Pain Physicians
July 29, 2009 Source: American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians
The American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians announced they have released the 2009 updated Interventional Pain Management guidelines. The purpose of these guidelines is to address the issues of systematic evaluation and ongoing care of chronic or persistent pain and provide information about the scientific basis of recommended procedures. The guidelines are expected to increase patient compliance, dispel miscommunications among providers and patients, manage patient expectations reasonably, and form the basis of a therapeutic partnership between the patient, the provider and payers.Story

Prescription Addiction, Diversion, and Abuse

Panel to decide how Florida pain clinics can operate
July 29, 2009 Source: Miami Herald
Seven doctors recently appointed to a state panel aimed at controlling pill mills have only a few weeks to decide how pain medicine can legally be practiced in Florida. The new law that allows for an electronic database for prescription narcotics also requires pain practitioners to register with state health authorities by early January, so rules about qualifications and the forms needed to apply must be ready well before then. Story

Product News & Clinical Trial Reports

What is alternative treatment for irritable bowel syndrome
August 12, 2009 Source: World Journal of Gastroenterology
In the randomized, controlled trial, the efficacy of imipramine in the treatment of symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) was studied. Patients diagnosed with IBS who failed treatment with conventional therapy were enrolled to receive a 12-week course of low-dose imipramine. The results were significant for showing improvement in global symptoms during and after 12 weeks of therapy with the medication. Story

NuPathe reports positive Phase III results for Zelrix, a novel transdermal patch for acute migraine
August 11, 2009 Source: NuPathe Inc
NuPathe Inc., has announced top-line results from the pivotal Phase III clinical trial of Zelrix, a novel transdermal patch in clinical development for the treatment of acute migraine. The Zelrix patch combines NuPathe’s proprietary SmartRelief™ iontophoretic transdermal technology with sumatriptan, the most prescribed treatment for acute migraine in the United States. Results of the pivotal Phase III clinical study demonstrated statistically significant improvement for patients two hours after applying the Zelrix patch compared to patients applying a placebo patch. Story

More Product News & Clinical Trial Reports

For Your Patients

People with pain, healthcare providers sound off in first-ever online talk show about pain
August 11, 2009 Source: Let's Talk Pain Coalition
Let's Talk Pain has created an engaging, first-of-its-kind Web-based series called the Let's Talk Pain show hosted by veteran TV journalist Carol Martin. The resource brings together medical doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers and people with pain to discuss a host of issues from managing health care for pain to exploring integrative treatment approaches to addressing the psychological aspects associated with pain. The goal of the five-episode series with in depth profiles of people with pain is to help the millions of Americans in pain better manage their conditions and realize that they are not alone. Story

Research Abstracts Stay up-to-date on the latest research! This section of Currents offers complete abstracts on a wide variety of pain and pain management topics that have been selected from the National Library of Medicine. All Abstracts

Some include:

Flower A, Liu JP, Chen S, et al.
Chinese herbal medicine for endometriosis. Abstract

Argoff CE, Silvershein DI.
A comparison of long- and short-acting opioids for the treatment of chronic noncancer pain: tailoring therapy to meet patient needs. Abstract

Meldrum ML, Tsao JC, Zeltzer LK.
"I can't be what I want to be": children's narratives of chronic pain experiences and treatment outcomes. Abstract

Shariff F, Carter J, Dow C, et al.
Mind and body management strategies for chronic pain and rheumatoid arthritis. Abstract

Cooper K, Smith BH, Hancock E.
Patients' perceptions of self-management of chronic low back pain: evidence for enhancing patient education and support. Abstract

Moore RA, Straube S, Wiffen PJ, et al.
Pregabalin for acute and chronic pain in adults. Abstract

215 Research Abstracts

Legislative and Administrative Updates

Branch of Government: Oregon. Senate
Title: S.B. 355
Summary: Provides for the establishment of a program for electronic monitoring and reporting of schedules II through IV prescription drugs dispensed by pharmacies; establishes a fee to be paid by licensees of specified health professional licensing boards, including the State Board of Nursing and the Oregon Medical Board, for prescribing and dispensing controlled substances; establishes an advisory commission.
Sponsor: Morrisette
Latest Action: July 23, 2009 Signed by Governor
[Full Text]

New Practice Guidelines

Arthritis
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Choosing Non-Opioid Analgesics for Osteoarthritis (Clinician Guide)
[Summary]

Back Pain
American College of Radiology
ACR Appropriateness Criteria® low back pain
[Summary]

More Practice Guidelines

New Clinical Trials

Alabama

Arthritis
City: Birmingham
Summary: A study examining how well adalimumab works in people with axial spondyloarthritis who are not diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis or psoriatic arthritis.

City: Birmingham
Summary: A study to determine if duloxetine 60 mg QD once daily reduces pain severity in patients with osteoarthritis knee pain compared with placebo.

More New Clinical Trials

Lagniappe (A little something extra)

Too many ways to say 'it hurts'
July 29, 2009 Source: Northwestern University
There are at least 100 ways to say, "It hurts!" And that is the problem. Are they in too much pain to unload groceries from the car? Are they too tired or depressed to go out to lunch with a friend? The answers are vital for researchers to know if new treatments are useful or useless. In August, free, publically available, computerized tests called Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information will be made available to researchers to measure pain, fatigue, depression, anxiety and physical and social functioning. Now when there is a pain measurement of 75, for example, it will mean the same thing to every doctor and scientist. Story

Instead of counting blessings, count money to feel good
July 16, 2009 Source: Association for Psychological Science
When we are feeling blue we are told to count our blessings, but according to a recent study, counting our money might be a more useful activity. In one part of the experiment, the scientists asked participants to immerse their fingers in hot water for 30 seconds after they counted either money or pieces of paper. Surprisingly, those counting money rated a lower intensity of the hot water and physical pain than those who counted paper. In addition, the researchers found that participants who counted out the bills rated themselves as feeling "strong" more often than the paper counting group. Story

Swearing can make you feel better
July 12, 2009 Source: Keele University
Since swearing often has a ‘catastrophising’ or exaggerating effect, serving to embellish or overstate the severity of pain, a team of researchers hypothesised that swearing would actually decrease the individual’s tolerance of pain. Swearing taps into emotional brain centres and appears to arise in the right brain, whereas most language production occurs in the left cerebral hemisphere of the brain. This research shows one potential reason why swearing developed and why it persists. Despite their initial expectations, the researchers found that the volunteers were able to keep their hands submerged in the ice water for a longer period of time when repeating the swear word, establishing a link between swearing and an increase in pain tolerance. Story

Editorial
Edward Duensing, Research
Lennie Duensing, Editorial

Design
Carol Harper, Art Direction