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A new type of drug could alleviate pain in a similar way to cannabis without affecting the brain, according to a new study published in the journal Pain on Monday 15 September. The research demonstrates for the first time that cannabinoid receptors called CB2, which can be activated by cannabis use, are present in human sensory nerves in the peripheral nervous system, but are not present in a normal human brain. Drugs which activate the CB2 receptors are able to block pain by stopping pain signals being transmitted in human sensory nerves, according to the study, led by researchers from...

Low levels of the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D, may contribute to chronic pain among women, scientists believe. The link does not apply to men, suggesting hormones may be involved, according to a study published in the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases said. The team from the Institute of Child Health in London said studies were now needed to see if vitamin D supplements can guard against chronic pain. About one in 10 people are affected by chronic pain at any one time in the UK. The causes are not well understood and much of the focus to date has been on...

Dallas, TX (AHN) - A University of Texas Southwestern Medical School study linked the rise in kidney stone ailments to global warming.The connection of kidney stone with warm weather has been established based on statistics that southeastern states have 50 percent higher incident than northeastern states. Kidney stones, although on the rise nationwide since 1976, were observed to have higher rates of occurrence during summer. With global warming even the northeastern region will likely experience higher incidents with an estimated 1.6 million new cases by 2050.The rise in kidney stone incidents by 25 percent in 2050 will be accompanied by...

Fibromyalgia Affects Women More Often Than Men ScienceDaily (Apr. 26, 2008) — Are you exhausted? Do you have pain all over but can’t figure out what’s wrong? If so, you may be suffering from fibromyalgia, a chronic condition that causes exhaustion, sleep disturbances and diffuse pain in your muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Fibromyalgia patients experience a range of symptoms of varying intensities that increase and decrease over time and often resemble other conditions. For years, because of their complex nature and a lack of research on the condition, many doctors misdiagnosed fibromyalgia symptoms or dismissed them as being in the...

Biological Link Between Pain And Fatigue DiscoveredImage of nerve endings in mouse muscle shows that ASIC3 (red) is present in pain receptors (orange). (Credit: Masahiko Ikeuchi M.D., Ph.D., UI visiting scientist from University of Kochi in Kochi, Japan) ScienceDaily (Apr. 8, 2008) — A recent University of Iowa study reveals a biological link between pain and fatigue and may help explain why more women than men are diagnosed with chronic pain and fatigue conditions like fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. Working with mice, the researchers, led by Kathleen Sluka, Ph.D., professor in the Graduate Program in Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation...

In the slide show I narrated about the late William F. Buckley, Jr., I didn’t have room to get into a couple of issues we’ve been debating here at the Lab: the Drug Enforcement Administration’s campaigns against medical marijuana and against doctors who treat chronic-pain patients. Mr. Buckley was worried about the D.E.A. well before the OxyContin scare inspired the agency’s Operation Cotton Candy and led to doctors like William Hurwitz and Bernard Rottschaefer being sent to prison. In 1995, after criticizing presidents and members of Congress for pursuing a war on drugs he considered futile, Mr. Buckley wrote: But...

<p>My Daughter has come down with stomach ulcers, H. Pylori, my son has also come down with problem, a mite earlier.</p> <p>This has been the bane Of The Little Bill Clan for at least the past 150 years, killed my Old Man.</p>

As vulnerable as naked mole rats seem, researchers now find the hairless, bucktoothed rodents are invulnerable to the pain of acid and the sting of chili peppers. A better understanding of pain resistance in these sausage-like creatures could lead to new drugs for people with chronic pain, scientists added. Naked mole rats live in cramped, oxygen-starved burrows some six feet underground in central East Africa. Unusually, they are cold-blooded — which, as far as anyone knows, is unique among mammals. "They're the nicest, sweetest animals I've ever worked with — they look frightening, but they're very gentle," said neurobiologist Thomas...

In a 13-year study examining 150,000 emergency room visits, doctors were found more likely to prescribe strong narcotics to patients complaining of pain than in the past, yet less likely to prescribe them to minorities than to white patients. The study, appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), said that this was the case even when patients complained of severe pain such as with kidney stones. From 1993 to 2005, prescriptions of narcotics for pain relief in emergency rooms rose from 23 percent to 37 percent overall. This increase appears to be the result of changing attitudes...

Migraine suffers have 'different brains' By Nick Allen Last Updated: 11:01am GMT 20/11/2007 Scientists have discovered structural differences in the brains of people who suffer from migraines. The researchers found variations in the cortex area that processes pain and other sensory information from the body. They said it was unclear whether the anomalies actually cause migraines or are themselves caused by severe, recurrent headaches. Brain scans were carried out on 24 people who had a long history of migraines and 12 who did not. The area of the brain that detects pain, touch and temperature, known as the somatosensory cortex,...

Morphine's little helper. Glia (green) contribute to the opioid's downsides.Credit: Steven Pollard/Wellcome Images SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA--Opioid drugs such as morphine are the most powerful painkillers. Unfortunately, in some patients their narcotic effects lead to addiction and the need for ever-escalating doses to quell pain. New research with rats shows that blocking morphine's action on glia--a type of support cell in the nervous system--can reduce these downsides while heightening its potency against pain. Over the past decade, scientists have discovered that glial cells heighten nerve pain, such as sciatica, by exciting the neurons that transmit pain signals. Morphine deadens pain by...

Going to a chiropractor to treat back pain could be a waste of time, according to a new study which found that having your spine manipulated does nothing to speed up recovery. Current treatment guidelines for acute back pain recommend that, in the first instance, GPs advise patients to remain active and avoid bed rest and take paracetamol for the pain. If that does not work, patients are referred for spinal manipulative therapy and given non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) drugs such as ibuprofen and diclofenac to treat the pain. Mark Hancock, of the back pain research group at the University of...

Source: University of Chicago Date: September 30, 2007 Doctors Learn To Control Their Own Brains' Pain Responses To Better Treat Patients Science Daily — Physicians apparently learn to "shut off" the portion of their brain that helps them appreciate the pain their patients experience while treating them and instead activate a portion of the brain connected with controlling emotions, according to new research using brain scans at the University of Chicago. Because doctors sometimes have to inflict pain on their patients as part of the healing process, they also must develop the ability to not be distracted by the suffering,...

Late payments on U.S. home equity lines of credit rose to a 5-1/2 year high in the second quarter of 2007 but delinquencies on many other types of consumer loans fell, the American Bankers Association said Wednesday. In its quarterly report on consumer borrowing, the bankers group said delinquencies in repaying home equity lines of credit rose to 0.77 percent in the April-June period. That compared to a rate of 0.60 percent in the first quarter and represented the highest rate since the fourth quarter of 2001 when the rate was 0.81 percent. However, the rate of closed-end home equity...

Euthanasia Video, Turning the Tide, Incredibly Well Received September 10, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Turning the Tide, the powerful DVD on euthanasia and assisted suicide, has been incredibly well received. The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition has sold more than 700 copies of Turning the Tide since its release in April and Turning the Tide has received positive reviews from people across Canada and the US. Turning the Tide is produced by the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition and Salt and Light media foundation. Turning the Tide was designed to change the way secular society perceives the issues of euthanasia and assisted suicide. Secular society views the...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Drug shipments from illegal online pharmacies were once so frequent in Appalachia that delivery companies had to add trucks to their routes. Police have cracked down on such deliveries but are confronted by a booming global network of so-called rogue pharmacies operating online. For people addicted to prescription medications such as the painkiller hydrocodone - sold mostly as Vicodin - the days of 'doctor shopping' are over as long as they have Internet access. With the help of unscrupulous doctors and pharmacists, hundreds of Web sites dispense prescription narcotics to customers in exchange for nothing more than...

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) - People in the United States are living in a world of pain and they are popping pills at an alarming rate to cope with it. The amount of five major painkillers sold at retail establishments rose 90 percent between 1997 and 2005, according to an Associated Press analysis of statistics from the Drug Enforcement Administration. More than 200,000 pounds of codeine, morphine, oxycodone, hydrocodone and meperidine were purchased at retail stores during the most recent year represented in the data. That total is enough to give more than 300 milligrams of painkillers to every person...

Over 100 US House Members Co-Sponsor Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act WASHINGTON, August 7, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - On Friday, Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ)- Co-Chairman of the Bipartisan Pro-Life Caucus - introduced legislation to expand and strengthen informed consent requirements abortion providers must follow by requiring information on pain and the unborn child be made available to women seeking abortions. "Expert testimony and scientific studies have shown that unborn children have the ability to feel pain from 20 weeks of gestation. You can be assured that abortion providers are aware of this information which, I might add, is well documented and...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- One of the top pro-life members of Congress has reintroduced a bill in the House that tells women of the pain an unborn child feels during an abortion. The bill also requires abortion practitioners to offer mothers a chance to provide the baby pain control before birth in an effort to encourage her to not have the abortion. Rep. Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican who co-chairs the pro-life caucus in Congress, is the key sponsor behind the modest bill. Smith told LifeNews.com the goal of the bill is to expand and strengthen informed consent requirements...

NEW YORK - Worried about that niggling pain in your arm? Concerned about those persistent headaches? If you’ve searched online for information about medical woes you’re not alone. The number of so-called cyberchondriacs seeking health information on the Web has soared to about 160 million in 2006 — a 37 percent rise over two years, according a new poll. “Cyberchondriacs now represent 84 percent of all online adults, up from last year’s 80 percent, and 72 percent in 2005,” Harris Interactive, the market research firm that conducted the survey, said in a statement.