The typical person living with arthritis in the UK is 20% less likely to be in work than their equivalent without the condition, new research shows. And the most striking finding was that non-university educated women aged 60-plus are at least 37% less likely to be in work if they have arthritis, compared to matched individuals without the condition. The […]
The proportion of opioid overdose deaths involving buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid use disorder, did not increase in the months after prescribing flexibilities were put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study. These data provide evidence that may help to inform buprenorphine prescribing policies. Published today in JAMA Network Open, this study was a collaborative effort […]
A study from researchers at Brown University, Rhode Island Hospital and the University of Rhode Island found that pharmacists — not just physicians at clinics and doctor’s offices — can safely and effectively start patients with opioid use disorder on the lifesaving medication buprenorphine. “With over 100,000 overdose deaths in 2022 and an opioid crisis impacting states across the country, […]
Switching the painkiller codeine to a prescription-only medicine in 2018 led to a 37 per cent overall drop in its consumption across Australia, according to new findings from wastewater sampling published in the journal Addiction. The samples, taken from 49 wastewater treatment plants, which cover catchment areas for 10.6 million Australians, show the dramatic effect of withdrawing the country’s most misused […]
Targeting a receptor responsible for our sense of touch and temperature, which researchers have now found to be present in our colon, could provide a new avenue for treating chronic pain associated with gastrointestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome. A team examining the colon, led by Professor Hongzhen Hu at Washington University and Professor Nick Spencer at Flinders University, […]
Type I interferon (IFN) is a powerful immune activator that is present at high levels in the majority of patients with lupus, an autoimmune disease. In Arthritis & Rheumatology, researchers report positive results from the first placebo-controlled long-term trial of anifrolumab—a human monoclonal antibody that targets the type I IFN receptor—in patients with lupus. In the long-term extension trial of two […]
Researchers report that patients with knee osteoarthritis have achieved significant short-term pain relief with ultrasound-guided genicular nerve blocks (GNB), locally injected anesthetics that block nerves around the knee joint. The findings were published on Nov. 12, 2022 in Arthritis & Rheumatology. “This study demonstrates that genicular nerve block is an effective short-term therapy for pain management in people with knee […]
Opioid-based painkillers have become a mainstay of post-operative care in orthopaedics but carry a risk of addiction. Now a new study by researchers at McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS), suggests patients can recover from orthopaedic surgery just as well without using opioid-based painkillers. The findings, published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), could have positive implications […]
Birthing women denied nitrous oxide (‘laughing gas’) to relieve labour pain during the COVID-19 pandemic have turned to opioids instead, without any adverse outcomes for mother or child, according to a new study by Australian clinicians. The study, at Lyell McEwin Hospital in Adelaide, looked at the impact of withholding nitrous oxide (N20), a decision adopted by numerous hospitals worldwide in the […]
A new study has found that monitoring pain response levels during surgery with NOL technology (Medasense, Ramat Gan, Israel) can help reduce postoperative pain. Exploring the clinical effect of NOL guided fentanyl dosing on post-operative pain, the study demonstrated that patient pain scores after surgery were 30% lower when administration of pain medication during surgery was guided with NOL monitoring. […]
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