Pain Stories
Pain relief for some, with an odd tradeoff
January 8, 2008
For people with chronic pain, relief comes with a tradeoff. Bed rest means missing out on life. Drugs take the edge off, but they also dull the senses and the mind. But there’s another potential option: implantable stimulators that blunt pain with electrical impulses. In this case, the tradeoff is living with a low-grade buzzing sensation in place of the pain. Story
Mirror therapy eases ache of missing limb
January 2, 2008
Phantom limb pain is relieved by a new approach that requires patients to move the intact limb while watching the action in a mirror. In some cases, mirror treatment completely reduces patients reliance upon painkillers. Story
Tips to prevent adverse drug events in older adults
January 2, 2008
Adverse drug events are more common in older adults because they are prescribed more drugs and are effected differently by these drugs than their younger counterparts. A recent review article summarizes steps that physicians and other healthcare providers can take to avoid overuse, misuse, and underuse of medication in older adults. Story
FDA Public Health Advisory: important information for the safe use of fentanyl transdermal system (Patch)
December 21, 2007
FDA has issued a health advisory to alert patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals to important information on the safe use of the fentanyl transdermal system, also known as the fentanyl patch (marketed as Duragesic and generics). Despite issuing an advisory in July 2005 that emphasized the safe use of the fentanyl patch, FDA continues to receive reports of death and life-threatening side effects in patients who use the fentanyl patch. Story
Large breasts and back pain
December 21, 2007
Some women suffer with severe pain, deteriorating posture, and are at risk for spinal deformity and other repetitive stress injuries to the shoulders and upper extremities due to their proportionately large breasts. Story
Years after beating polio, thousands are suffering a new wave of crippling pains ... and most doctors haven't a clue how to help them (Ireland)
December 18, 2007
Up to 60 per cent of Irish polio survivors will experience the late effects of polio, or post-polio syndrome. Despite the numbers affected, very few doctors know much about it. They’ve assumed, like most of us, that as the polio virus itself has now been eradicated, it is a health concern of the past. But the long-term effects of the disease rife in Ireland in the Forties and Fifties can be as debilitating as the disease in its early stages. Story
Carbamazepine prescribing information to include recommendation of genetic test for patients with Asian ancestry
December 12, 2007
Connection of genetic information with medication use can improve safe use of product
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that the manufacturers of drugs containing the active ingredient carbamazepine have agreed to add to the drugs' labeling a recommendation that, before starting therapy with the drugs, patients with Asian ancestry get a genetic blood test that can identify a significantly increased risk of developing a rare, but serious, skin reaction. Story
Early care helps frozen shoulder
December 10, 2007
Known medically as adhesive capsulitis, frozen shoulder a fairly common ailment — estimated to strike between 2 percent and 3 percent of the population, the vast majority women ages 40 to 60. Yet too few sufferers get diagnosed in time for a simple shot that could cut an astounding year or more off recovery time. Story
Lidoderm unseats OxyContin to top the Hartford's new list of top 25 drugs used in workers' compensation
December 10, 2007
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. released its 2006 annual study of the 25 most costly drugs in workers' compensation, and the results this year may be considered surprising. OxyContin, the long-acting narcotic painkiller that headed the list each year since 2001, had dropped to number five, replaced by Lidoderm, a non-narcotic pain killer in patch form. Story
|
