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The journal of Science reports findings from researchers accessing chemotypes from a virtual library of over 300 million molecules. The authors of the study “computationally docked each virtual molecule into the highly similar α2BAR binding site, prioritizing those that physically fit and that were...
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Alcohol may have analgesic properties, but how well does it work for chronic pain? Researchers, publishing their findings in the Journal of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, compared pain threshold, pain intensity, pain unpleasantness, and perceived relief in social drinkers with and...
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The 2016 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain was controversial; did it change minds? Apparently it did get practitioners to think “nonopioids” more often. An article published in JAMA Network Open presented information based on cohort study...
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Why/how do NSAIDs do what they do? They are used for their anti-inflammatory effects, but is that all? Research published in Immunity examined an NSAID subset that activates nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2). NRF2 controls some genes that participate in processes including...
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The Non-Opioids Prevent Addiction in the Nation (NOPAIN) Act was recently introduced into the House of Representatives, after working its way through the senate. Its goal? To make it easier to access non-opioid pain management treatments. The Act hopes to “address payment disincentives for...
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A research letter published in JAMA Surgery compares postsurgery pain relief and patient satisfaction via patient-reported outcomes after common operations. What’s the right balance between excessive prescribing of opioids and inferior pain control? Over 600 patients were surveyed 1 to 3 months...
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A systematic review published in BMJ Open looked at the use of analgesic doses of ketamine to assess its efficacy and safety compared with other analgesic drugs (or no drug) in adult prehospital patients with acute pain. Culling information from clinical trials, the researchers included 8 studies...
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In a report prepared for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) by the Pacific Northwest Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) at Oregon Health & Science University, opioids and nonpharmacological treatments for chronic pain were compared. The purpose of the review: Evaluate the...
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Nearly one-third of children who had surgery to remove their tonsils did not need opioids to get adequate pain relief during and after surgery, according to a study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2019 annual meeting.
Tonsillectomy is one of the most common pediatric surgical procedures in the U...
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When treating acute and chronic pain conditions, there is a need for “balanced” analgesia or multimodal analgesia. These are cases in which opioids as monotherapy are rarely appropriate. The therapeutic role of adjuvant analgesics is to increase the therapeutic index of opioids by producing an...