Genes Play a Role in Opioid Side Effects
Genes play a significant role in determining which patients will suffer from respiratory depression, nausea, itchiness and other side effects from painkilling opiates, according to a Stanford...
View ArticleDramatic Increase in Chronic Abuse of Painkillers
The abuse of prescription painkillers has increased dramatically over the last decade, particularly among men, according to a new report by a researcher for the Centers for Disease Control. Between...
View ArticleShould Children Take Opioid Painkillers?
Two new studies are drawing attention to a sensitive topic in the pain community: Should children be given powerful and potentially addictive opioid analgesics to relieve their pain? According to...
View ArticleOpioid Use by Injured California Workers Declining
The use of powerful opioid painkillers such as oxycodone by injured California workers has dropped to its lowest level since 2007, according to a new study. Researchers say the data suggests that...
View ArticleAre Painkiller Sales Falling?
Sales of OxyContin and other popular painkillers in the U.S. have declined in the past year, according to pharmaceutical sales data released by a clinical drug website. But it’s not clear if the drop...
View ArticleNektar Begins Phase II Study of New Opioid
Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NKTR) has enrolled the first patient in a Phase II clinical study of a new opioid analgesic that is designed to enter the brain slowly, reducing the potential for the drug...
View ArticleDoctors Petition FDA to Limit Painkillers
Saying it was time to “close the loophole” on narcotic painkillers, a coalition of doctors and public health officials is petitioning the Food and Drug Administration to change the prescription...
View ArticleLiving with Pain: PROP’s Misleading Petition
Last week the Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing, along with a group of doctors and public health officials, sent a petition to the Food and Drug Administration requesting changes in...
View ArticleResearcher Says Marijuana is Safer Alternative to Painkillers
Marijuana is an effective treatment for chronic pain and is a safer alternative than opioid analgesics, according to a Canadian researcher at the Centre for Addictions Research at the University of...
View ArticleLiving with Pain: The Fed Crackdown on Medical Marijuana
I have been smoking medical marijuana for the past four months. Like hundreds of thousands of others, I turned to medical marijuana for relief from chronic pain. For me the decision was easy, as I had...
View ArticleCaught in the Crossfire: PROMPT vs. PROP
When a group of doctors, public health officials and members of Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing (PROP) submitted a petition to the FDA to restrict the approved uses of opioid medications,...
View ArticleDepression and Painkiller Use Increases Risk of Addiction after Surgery
The risk of addiction to opioid painkillers after surgery significantly increases if a patient is depressed or has used pain medications prior to surgery, according to a pilot study at Stanford...
View ArticleLiving with Pain: Patients Fight Back in Florida
Pain patients in Florida are taking their well-being into their own hands by fighting back against the state and federal governments, which are obstructing and, in some cases, denying opioid treatment...
View ArticleDrug Monitoring Database Significantly Reduced Inappropriate Prescriptions
A prescription drug monitoring program in Canada dramatically reduced the number of inappropriate prescriptions for opioid painkillers and anti-anxiety drugs, according to a new study in the Canadian...
View ArticlePROP’s Petition: Why Opioid Labeling Changes Are Needed
By Pete Jackson Recently, several columns have appeared in American News Report expressing negative views toward a petition submitted to the FDA by doctors, researchers and public health officials,...
View ArticleNektar Begins Testing of New Opioid Painkiller
Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NKTR) has announced positive results from an early study on the effectiveness of a new short-acting opioid drug candidate. The company said the drug – called NKTR-192 –...
View ArticleFDA Panel Backs Tighter Controls on Vicodin
By Pat Anson, Editor An advisory panel for the Food and Drug Administration has recommended tighter controls on Vicodin and other hydrocodone products, the most widely used and abused narcotic...
View Article7 of 10 Americans on Prescription Drugs
By Richard Lenti Prescription drug use in the U.S. has nearly doubled in the past decade, with nearly seven out of ten Americans being prescribed medications, according to a new study by the Mayo...
View Article‘Opioid Refugees’ Denied Painkillers
The stories are widespread and persistent: pain patients being denied opioid medications by pharmacies or being left untreated by doctors. We’ve written about it, many times, and readers like Carla...
View ArticleOxycodone and Hydrocodone Most Popular Abused Painkillers
By Pat Anson, Editor Oxycodone and hydrocodone are the “drugs of choice” for abusers of opioid pain medication, according to a new survey of thousands of opioid addicts entering drug treatment programs...
View Article
More Pages to Explore .....