Scientists get closer to finding out why statins cause muscle pain Chemical conversion of statins could disrupt muscle mitochondria function, leading to pain and weakness.…
FDA approves opioid Oxycontin for adolescents The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of the opioid OxyContin (oxycodone) for children aged 11–16 years whose pain is severe enough to require daily around-the-clock long-term treatment for which alternative options are inadequate.…
Study highlights intracranial bleeding risk when antidepressants are taken with NSAIDs Concomitant use of antidepressants and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is associated with an increased risk of intracranial haemorrhage, confirms new research.…
Medical benefits of cannabis can be separated from unwanted side effects Scientists have found that inhibiting the effects of a certain receptor in the brains of mice can prevent negative effects of cannabis but keeps benefits such as pain relief.…
Prolonged paracetamol use in pregnancy could harm male offspring Pregnant women who take the commonly used analgesic paracetamol for more than a week could lead to reproductive problems in their male offspring, suggests a study.…
Osteoarthritis: management A wide range of drug classes are used to treat osteoarthritis, although there is a lack of detailed guidance because of the variable nature of the condition.…
Combining nortriptyline with morphine may provide superior analgesia over monotherapies For patients with neuropathic pain, average daily pain scores were reduced significantly more with combination therapy than with either nortriptyline or morphine alone.…
Placebo effect genes identifiedResearchers have identified at least 11 genes that influence individuals’ susceptibility to the placebo effect.…
Meta-analysis casts doubt over first-line paracetamol use for back pain and osteoarthritis A meta-analysis published in The BMJ has cast doubt on the use of paracetamol as the first-line analgesic for spinal pain and osteoarthritis of the hip and knee.…
Could crossing your fingers alter pain levels?The thermal grill illusion is a sensory ‘trick’ first demonstrated by a Swedish physician, Torsten Thunberg, in 1896.…
