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Enlarge ImageAltered perceptions? Minimally conscious patients may have a greater capacity to feel pain than do those in a vegetative state (such as Terri Schiavo, above).Credit: Reuters Most of the time, doctors have a simple way to determine if a patient needs pain medication: They ask. But when a brain injury renders someone unable to respond to questions, the right course of action becomes murkier. Now a study finds that the brains of some patients with brain injuries respond to an unpleasant electrical shock much as do the brains of healthy people, suggesting that these patients may feel pain...

Why pain is good – in both medicine and finance By John Kay Published: September 30 2008 18:57 | Last updated: September 30 2008 18:57 Pain has been described as the gift no one wants. There cannot be a single reader who has not, at some time, wished not to experience pain. But we are better off with the capacity to suffer pain than without it. A few people are born with a genetic deficiency that leaves them completely free of pain. They rarely survive to adult life. Leprosy has for thousands of years been the most dreaded disease. Only...

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...

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A South African man shot three weeks ago was told to "walk the pain off" and is still trying to persuade hospitals to remove the bullet lodged in his side, a newspaper said Thursday. Three Johannesburg hospitals refused to remove the bullet for security guard Phillip Mashiane, 38, who was shot during a burglary at the property of South Africa's ambassador to the United Nations, the Star newspaper said. The bullet passed through his elbow and entered his body just above the hip, missed his vital organs and stopped beneath the skin on the opposite side of...

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.

Ronald McIver is a prisoner in a medium-security federal compound in Butner, N.C. He is 63 years old, of medium height and overweight, with a white Santa Claus beard, white hair and a calm, direct and intelligent manner. He is serving 30 years for drug trafficking, and so will likely live there the rest of his life. McIver (pronounced mi-KEE-ver) has not been convicted of drug trafficking in the classic sense. He is a doctor who for years treated patients suffering from chronic pain. At the Pain Therapy Center, his small storefront office not far from Main Street in Greenwood,...

HOW much pain would you put up with to help your friend? Less than you would for your close relatives, but more than you would for a charity, according to a study that looked at the basis of altruistic behaviour. For women, however, best friends rank higher than cousins, while men put all family members ahead of friends.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – After deliberating for seven days in federal court here, a jury late this afternoon found Dr. William Hurwitz guilty on 16 counts of drug trafficking. Dr. Hurwitz, whose legal battles over his opioid prescriptions made him a hero to some chronic-pain patients, was not convicted of the other 29 counts against him. The bad news for Dr. Hurwitz (and his many supporters who have been posting here) is that he remains in prison and will be sentenced on July 13 for writing prescriptions of OxyContin and other opioids to drug dealers and addicts. But his prospects are...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — His retrial in federal court here isn’t over yet, but Dr. William E. Hurwitz is already doing much better than he did the first time. Judge Leonie M. Brinkema has dismissed the most serious charges against him. Dr. Hurwitz, whom I wrote about in a recent column, is the most prominent of the doctors who have been prosecuted for writing prescriptions for OxyContin and other painkillers. In 2004, he was convicted of drug trafficking and, most significantly, of writing prescriptions that led to bodily injury and deaths, crimes that carried a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years....

Much attention has been focused on the cardiovascular risks posed by Vioxx and other so-called cox-2 inhibitors in recent years, so the American Heart Association provided an important service this week by reminding us that many other painkillers have risks associated with them. The association spelled out gradations of cardiovascular risk and recommended a step-by-step approach — starting with nonmedicinal remedies — that doctors should follow when treating joint and ligament pain. The scientific statement applies specifically to patients who already have or are at risk of heart disease and also need relief from pain — whether caused by short-term...

'Perfectionism' bowel pain link Women are more prone to IBS Perfectionists are more prone to developing irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) after an infection, a study has suggested. University of Southampton researchers asked 620 people with gastroenteritis about stress and their illness. Those who pushed themselves or were particularly anxious about symptoms were more likely to develop IBS. Experts said the study, published in Gut, may explain why only some people develop IBS after a gut infection. About 5% of the UK population have IBS. Up to one in 10 people develop it after a having a bacterial gut infection, having...

Researchers foresee a day when people tortured by chronic, unexplained pain will be able to prove that they really hurt -- evidence that could help sufferers be taken more seriously and could even lead to better treatments. Recent studies suggest that prolonged, ongoing pain leaves a signature in the brain that can be detected using advanced imaging techniques. In other work, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and elsewhere have found that excruciating nerve damage can be detected in bits of skin the size of a pinhead. And genetic tests may someday prove useful, researchers believe: Certain genes appear to be...

The life and death of a young street performer from Pakistan who could walk on hot coals and drive knives through his arms without flinching has led scientists to a genetic discovery that could revolutionise the treatment of pain. Scientists at Cambridge University began studying the child to understand why he was unable to feel pain, but was otherwise completely healthy. He died shortly before his 14th birthday, from injuries sustained after jumping off a roof while playing with friends. The scientists broadened their investigation to three families related to the child and found that none had experienced pain at...

Pakistani boy leads scientists to pain discovery By Patricia Reaney Wed Dec 13, 1:25 PM ET A young Pakistani street performer and members of three related families have enabled scientists to make a genetic breakthrough that could lead to more effective painkillers. During his short life, the unnamed boy never felt pain. He was a local celebrity in northern Pakistan where he astonished crowds by plunging knives through his arms and walking on burning coals. He died on his 14th birthday after jumping from a roof. By studying his case, and other individuals from families in the same clan, researchers...

Remember the girl who received a five-day suspension for bringing Tylenol to school? If that punishment seems excessive, how about a 25-year prison sentence for having Tylenol at home? In 2004 a Florida jury convicted Richard Paey of drug trafficking involving at least 28 grams of the narcotic painkiller oxycodone, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years. But there was no evidence that Paey, who has suffered from severe chronic pain for two decades, planned to do anything with the pain reliever except relieve his pain. And since he was taking Percocet, a combination of oxycodone and acetaminophen,...

A little old lady is walking down the street, dragging two plastic garbage bags with her, one in each hand. There's a hole in one of the bags, and every once in a while a $20 bill is dropping out of it onto the pavement. Noticing this, a policeman stops her...."Ma'am, there are $20 bills falling out of that bag..." "Damn!" says the little old lady....."I'd better go back and see if I can still find some. Thanks for the warning!" "Well, now, not so fast," says the cop. "How did you get all that money? Did you steal it?"...

A NEW painkiller based on the venom of a sea snail will be available in Britain from today. Prialt, or ziconotide, is the result of more than 20 years’ research by a scientist born in the Philippines, Baldomera Olivera, who is a professor at the University of Utah. It is 1,000 times more potent than morphine but, unlike that drug, is not addictive. It is aimed at people suffering from severe, chronic pain who would normally require morphine. Given by injection into the fluid around the spine, it is the first non-opioid painkiller using this method of administration to be...

NATURE TO THE RESCUE - AGAINThe deadly sea snail venom that will take away your pain By Nigel Hawkes, Health Editor Times Online A NEW painkiller based on the venom of a sea snail will be available in Britain from today. Prialt, or ziconotide, is the result of more than 20 years’ research by a scientist born in the Philippines, Baldomera Olivera, who is a professor at the University of Utah. It is 1,000 times more potent than morphine but, unlike that drug, is not addictive. It is aimed at people suffering from severe, chronic pain who would normally...

Video news story about a young woman who faces a 25 year mandatory minimum sentence for drug trafficking. The drugs were prescription drugs (the prescription was for her mother, who had recently passed away) and none were sold. Note: I couldn't get the video to play in a Firefox tab, but it played fine using the IE Tab extension.

THURSDAY, June 22 (HealthDay News) -- A magnetic device that seems to help depression and seizures may also short-circuit migraine headaches in their earliest stages, a new study finds. The transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) device, about the size of a hair dryer, was able to interrupt the development of migraines, according to data to be presented Thursday at the American Headache Society's annual meeting, in Los Angeles. The study was funded by the device's maker, NeuraLieve, of Sunnyvale, Calif. About 28 million Americans suffer migraine headaches and about 20 percent experience migraine with aura, characterized by changes in vision before...

NEW YORK -- On Friday, the Royals were on the verge of ending both their recent 13-game losing streak and their 14-game losing streak at Yankee Stadium. Then, they had to wait ... and wait ... and wait. After they had played eight and a half innings, a downpour added to the Royals' anxiety. They waited one hour, 59 minutes in a rain delay and then, at 11:59 p.m. ET, when the game resumed, they had to put up with the Yankees staging a mini-comeback. In the end, though, Royals reliever Andrew Sisco got Jason Giambi to ground into a...

AP MEDICAL WRITER WASHINGTON -- Anyone who's ever taken a preschooler to the doctor knows they often cry more before the shot than afterward. Now researchers using brain scans to unravel the biology of dread have an explanation: For some people, anticipating pain is truly as bad as experiencing it. How bad? Among people who volunteered to receive electric shocks, almost a third opted for a stronger zap if they could just get it over with, instead of having to wait. More importantly, the research found that how much attention the brain pays to expected pain determines whether someone is...

Premature babies experience real pain rather than just displaying reflex reactions, scientists said yesterday.Brain scans carried out on premature babies during blood tests showed surges of blood and oxygen in the sensory areas of their brains - demonstrating that pain was being processed. Previous research had shown that even the youngest newborns are capable of showing the behavioural signs of pain but it had been unclear whether these were simply bodily reflexes. Prof Maria Fitzgerald, from the department of anatomy and developmental biology at University College London, who led the team, said: "We have shown for the first time that...

O Lord, why does life have to be so hard? I cry out but I hear no answer. I pray to you and ask you to help me be a better person. I work towards that goal thinking that I'm in partnership but persist in making mistakes. I do 10 things and 9 of them will turn out perfectly but it's the 10th thing -- the one that I mess up -- that gets all the attention. Why am I not appreciated for the things that I do right? Why does the one thing that I mess up have to be the most...

<p>LONDON — Six men who became ill during a drug trial remained in serious condition in a London hospital Thursday.</p> <p>Two of the men were listed in critical condition, Northwick Park Hospital said in a statement.</p> <p>Raste Khan — one of two men given a placebo in the trial — said the six had been stricken within a few minutes of receiving the drug.</p>

Stacy at Christian Persecution Blog has an excellent article today called If your outlook is bad, then look up. It especially speaks to me because my life has been full of turmoil and upheaval lately. My wife and I sat down last week, counted things up, and found that between the two of us, we had had 5 surgeries, 4 emergency room visits, and a number of most unpleasant and painful office procedures within the past 2 years. She has also lost 2 immediate family members in the past 2-1/2 years and I have had 2 job changes. Life seems...

Associated Press WASHINGTON — The dog hopped on three legs, pain from bone cancer so bad that he wouldn't let his afflicted fourth paw touch the floor. His owner was bracing for euthanasia when scientists offered a novel experiment: They injected a fiery sap from a Moroccan plant into Scooter's spinal column — and the dog frolicked on all fours again for several months. The chemical destroyed nerve cells that sensed pain from Scooter's cancer, not helping the tumor but apparently making him no longer really feel it. The dramatic effect in dogs has researchers from the National Institutes of...

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves; we are pressed on every side, yet not straitened; perplexed, yet not unto despair;   pursued, yet not forsaken; smitten down, yet not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body.   II Corinthians 4: 7-10 that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed unto his death;. Phillipians 3:10 Whosoever doth...

WASHINGTON -- People who suffer from a spinal problem that can cause back and leg pain have an alternative to difficult surgery with a newly approved device that requires a much less invasive procedure to implant. The Food and Drug Administration authorized use of the "X-stop" - a thumb of titanium on a mount that fits to a vertebra in the lower back - to reduces pain from lumbar spinal stenosis. The FDA's approval was announced Tuesday by the St. Mary's Spine Center in San Francisco, which developed the device. The condition is the most common cause of back surgery...

On Tuesday, the House Subcommittee on the Constitution began hearings on the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act (UCPAA). The legislation would require abortion providers to tell women who come to them for late-term abortions that the fetus might feel pain and that the woman has a right to ask that the fetus be anaesthetized for the procedure. Although evidence suggests that the unborn child feels pain by the age of 20 weeks (if not sooner), abortionists are not required to provide women with the information that the fetus might suffer pain during an abortion procedure, pain which could be eliminated...

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world. A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in...

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him." (John 9:1-3 Listen) The problem of pain and suffering has vexed humanity since the beginning. If there is a God, and if he is a good and loving God, then why does he allow his creation to suffer? If God is all-powerful, then why didn't he stop...