Copyright 2008 Medical News Today Latest Pain / Anesthetics News From Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/pain/ admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin) editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors) en-us Mon, 12 May 2008 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/107054.php At first, fruit flies eat like horses. Hatching inside over-ripe fruit where they were laid, they feed wildly in the sugar-rich environment until nature sends them an offer they can't refuse. To survive, they must leave the fruit, wander off and burrow into the earth where they avoid food as if it were poison. Only then can the larvae grow and hatch into flies that will take wing to lay their own eggs. Mon, 12 May 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/107037.php For low-back pain patients and their doctors, the American Pain Society, http://www.ampainsoc.org/, said it is expanding its evidence-based, clinical practice guideline on diagnosis and treatment of chronic low back pain to include recommendations on surgery and other interventional treatments. The expanded guideline was previewed in a symposium at the APS Annual Scientific Meeting. Mon, 12 May 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/107028.php As controversy swirls about proper clinical use of opioids and other potent pain medications, research reported at the American Pain Society annual meeting shows that, contrary to widespread beliefs, less than 3 percent of patients with no history of drug abuse who are prescribed opioids for chronic pain will show signs of possible drug abuse or dependence. Mon, 12 May 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106974.php BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. (Nasdaq: BDSI) and commercial partner Meda Pharmaceuticals will present, data from Phase III clinical pivotal trials for BEMA™ Fentanyl, a potential treatment for breakthrough pain (BTP) in opioid tolerant patients with cancer. The presentations will be made at the 27th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Pain Society (APS) in Tampa, Florida. Mon, 12 May 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106972.php CRI Worldwide, Inc., a leading provider of clinical research services to the global pharmaceutical and biotech industry, has announced the opening of its Center for the Research of Pain Disorders, based at the company's state-of-the-art clinical research facility at the Kirkbride Center in Philadelphia. The Center for the Research of Pain Disorders will be led by Daniel Gruener, MD, a recognized expert in the areas of analgesic and neuropathic pain research. Sun, 11 May 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/107002.php Many strong acting pain medications have bothersome side effects. These can include nausea and vomiting with short-term use, and constipation with longer, chronic use. Such symptoms can lead patients to discontinue treatment, adding additional complications to pain management for physicians. Sun, 11 May 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/107001.php Many foot-surgery patients experience intense pain for several days following removal of a bunion, one of the most common foot surgeries. The investigational pain medication tapentadol provided significant relief for patients who had this surgery, compared to those treated with placebo. Treatment with tapentadol also resulted in patients reporting fewer gastrointestinal side effects compared to those treated with an older, prescription pain reliever, researchers announced. Fri, 09 May 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106824.php Array BioPharma Inc. (Nasdaq: ARRY) announced that its Chief Medical Officer, John Yates, M.D., presented additional positive results from a Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of ARRY-797, a novel small molecule pan-cytokine inhibitor, in patients with post-surgical dental pain at the American Pain Society's 27th Annual Scientific Meeting in Tampa, Florida. Fri, 09 May 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106818.php Alpharma Inc. (NYSE:ALO), a leading global specialty pharmaceutical company, announced that two studies to be presented this week at the American Pain Society annual meeting demonstrate the efficacy, tolerability and positive pharmacokinetic profile of Alpharma Pharmaceuticals' FLECTOR® Patch (diclofenac epolamine topical patch) 1.3%, the first and only prescription anti-inflammatory pain relief patch in the United States. Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106847.php Patients treated with lacosamide demonstrated sustained pain relief from diabetic neuropathic pain (DNP), compared to placebo-treated patients, according to data presented at the 27th annual meeting of the American Pain Society (APS) in Tampa, Fla. Thu, 08 May 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106678.php New Phase 1 clinical trial results for NKTR-118 (oral PEG-naloxol) were presented by Nektar Therapeutics (Nasdaq: NKTR) this week at the Annual Meeting of the American Pain Society (APS) in Tampa, Florida. In this multiple-dose Phase 1 study, oral NKTR-118 was shown to have substantial oral bioavailability with rapid absorption and an extended half-life that is up to ten times the known half-life of unPEGylated naloxone. Wed, 07 May 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106603.php BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. (Nasdaq: BDSI) announced that four scientific posters for its lead product, BEMA™ Fentanyl, currently under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a potential treatment for breakthrough pain (BTP) in opioid-tolerant patients with cancer, will be presented at the 27th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Pain Society (APS), May 8-10, in Tampa, Florida. Tue, 06 May 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106324.php A study in China has shown that the antiplatelet* drug cilostazol is as effective as aspirin at preventing recurrent stroke, but causes less bleeding events. The results suggest cilostazol could be a safer alternative to aspirin post-stroke for Chinese patients, and warrant both phase III trials and studies in other populations. These are the conclusions of authors of an Article published early Online and in the June edition of The Lancet Neurology. Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106353.php Anesiva, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANSV) announced the publication of data in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, from a Phase 3 trial of Zingo(TM) (lidocaine hydrochloride monohydrate) powder intradermal injection, the company's fast-acting, topical, needle-free local anesthetic, that showed treatment with Zingo was associated with significantly less pain during intravenous (IV) line placement or venipuncture as compared to sham placebo. Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106348.php QRxPharma Limited (ASX: QRX), a clinical-stage specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialisation of therapies for pain and central nervous system (CNS) disorders, announced initial Phase 3 efficacy results for Q8003IR, an immediate release dual-opioid product intended for the acute management of moderate to severe pain. Sun, 04 May 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106180.php More than a quarter of American men and women report feeling pain at any point in time, and those with lower incomes and less education spent more time in pain and had higher than average pain. These are the conclusions of authors of an Article published in this week's edition of The Lancet.Pain imposes considerable costs on the health-care system and economy, and the occurrence of pain is a major reason for people seeing their doctor and taking medications. Fri, 02 May 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106103.php A novel study that attempts to paint the most accurate and detailed description yet of how Americans experience pain has found that a significant portion of the population -- 28 percent -- are in pain at any given moment and those with less education and lower income spend more of their time in pain. Those in pain are less likely to work or socialize with others and are more inclined to watch television than the pain-free. Fri, 02 May 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106065.php Researchers at McGill University and the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) have performed the world's first totally automated administration of an anesthetic. Nicknamed "McSleepy," the new system developed by the researchers administers drugs for general anesthesia and monitors their separate effects completely automatically, with no manual intervention. Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/105997.php Based on a random survey of nearly 4,000 respondents in the United States, Arthur A. Stone, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University, and Alan Krueger, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Economics and the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University, report than more than 25 percent of American men and women experience daily pain. Thu, 01 May 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/105960.php Taking aspirin on a daily basis may lower women's risk of a particular type of breast cancer, according to results published in BioMed Central's open access journal Breast Cancer Research. In this large study, aspirin use was linked to a small reduction in estrogen receptor-positive breast cancers. However, unlike in some previous research, aspirin and related painkillers were not found to reduce the total risk of breast cancer. Wed, 30 Apr 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/105842.php Methylnaltrexone, a drug developed to relieve one of the major side effects of pain therapy for cancer patients, received marketing approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration on April 24, 2008, for use in the treatment of opioid-induced bowel disorders in patients receiving palliative care for advanced illness such as cancer. Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/105605.php The prevalence of both obesity and back pain in developing nations has reached alarming levels. According to recent statistics, more than one-third of U.S. adults over 72 million people were obese in 2005-2006. Of these, 33.3 percent were men and 35.3 percent were women. Especially alarming is that obesity has not decreased among teenagers the rates remain essentially unchanged in 2005-2006 from the 2003-2004 estimates, at 17 percent. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/105639.php MediQuest Therapeutics Inc. announced that it has reached a major milestone in its corporate history by submitting a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for MQX-503, a topical formulation designed to treat Raynaud's Disease. This submission must be accepted by the FDA before it is reviewed for market approval. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/105634.php Aspirin-like compounds (salicylates) can claim another health benefit: increasing the amount of insulin produced by otherwise healthy obese people. Obesity is associated with insulin resistance, the first step toward type 2 diabetes.Aspirin and other salicylates are known to reduce blood glucose in diabetic patients. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/105589.php Cara Therapeutics, Inc announced that it has initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial of its long-acting peripheral kappa opioid receptor agonist, CR845. The Phase 1a single-center clinical trial will evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetic profile, and pharmacological activity of CR845 in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, single escalating intravenous dose study in 58 healthy male and female volunteers.