August 22--August 28, 1998

New Hope For Arthritis Sufferers (8/26/98)

For the first time in over a decade, the nation's 2 million sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis are about to get a surge of new help. Both the biologically engineered Enbrel^® and a competing drug are expected to win Food and Drug Administration approval by year's end. A third medicine is completing final testing, and the FDA also is considering a blood-filtering therapy. In addition to drugs designed to attack the root of rheumatoid arthritis - the immune system - companies are poised to seek FDA approval this fall for a new class of arthritis painkillers known as "super-aspirin." (Source: The Associated Press)

Taking The Pain Out Of Injections (8/25/98)

A revolutionary, needle-free injection has been developed that aims to take the fear out of having a jab. Instead of using a needle the so-called 'Intraject' works by firing a tiny jet of liquid through the skin. The manufacturers, Weston Medical, claim the device, which is about to begin clinical trials, is more hygienic than a needle and virtually painless. It is also disposable and relatively cheap. (Source: BBC Online)

Taking Calcium Supplements Can Reduce The Physical Symptoms Of PMS By Almost 50% (8/25/98)

Millions of women who experience the physical and emotional discomfort of PMS every month may find improvement with calcium, according to a new study out in this month's American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The multicenter study, entitled "Calcium Carbonate and the Premenstrual Syndrome: Effects on Premenstrual and Menstrual Symptoms,"  found that if women were supplemented daily with 1200 mg of calcium, within two to three months, overall pain symptoms were reduced by 54%, while the women not on calcium actually experienced an increase in pain. (Source: American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology via PR Newswire)

U.S. OKs Drug For Crohn's Disease (8/24/98)

The government approved the first drug specifically for Crohn's disease, a painful inflammation of the digestive system that affects about 1 million Americans. The Food and Drug Administration this week announced that it was licensing infliximab as the first medication for Crohn's. The drug also is being tested for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, a bone deterioration disease. (Source: The Associated Press)

Minimizing Breast Pain: Recommendations From Women's Health America (8/24/98)

Sore breasts can signal the onset of PMS -- pain tells some women they're premenstrual more reliably than a calendar. Cyclical breast soreness shouldn't cause concern, according to Women's Health America. However, breast pain doesn't have to be tolerated. Researchers explain how to minimize discomfort and to recognize cautionary signs that should send you to your doctor. (Source: Women's Health America via PR Newswire)

New Breakthrough Arthritis Drug May Debut Soon (8/24/98)

A new and gentler arthritis pain reliever -- potentially the hottest drug of 1999 -- may hit pharmacies in six to nine months after the Food and Drug administration said it will review the drug on a priority basis. Celebra, or celecoxib, is the first of a new class of so-called COX-2 inhibitors, which block an enzyme called cyclooxygenase that causes pain and inflammation. Unlike other arthritis remedies, Celebra is touted to have fewer side effects, particularly stomach problems like ulcers and bleeding often caused by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS). (Source: Reuters)

McNeil Consumer Products Company Launches TYLENOL^(R) ARTHRITIS Extended Relief (8/24/98)

McNeil Consumer Products Company this week announced that it is relaunching TYLENOL^(R) Extended Relief under the new name TYLENOL^(R) ARTHRITIS Extended Relief to reflect the product's widespread use and efficacy in people with arthritis. Dr. Temple noted that the identification of acetaminophen with arthritis was reinforced in 1995 when the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) released its first set of guidelines for the medical management of osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis. (Source: McNeil Consumer Products Company via PR Newswire)

Medical Industries Of America Completes Acquisition Of Valley Pain Centers Of Virginia (8/24/98)

Medical Industries of America Inc. this week announced the completion of the acquisition of Valley Pain Centers (VPC). With offices located in Roanoke, Charlottesville, Staunton, and Harrisburg, Va., VPC will continue delivering, by day, sophisticated interventional pain services in the office setting at lower cost than similar practices, which are largely hospital-based. Through MIOA's wholly owned subsidiary, Ivanhoe Medical Systems, sleep centers - operating in the evening - will also be implemented in the VPC offices. Medical Industries intends to duplicate this office-based, integrated formula in other areas of the country and ultimately emerge a national leader in the integrated ancillary services of interventional pain and sleep disorders. (Source: Business Wire)

August 15--August 21, 1998

FDA OKs Laser For Chest Pain (8/21/98)

Heart patients who suffer crippling chest pain now have a radical new treatment option: a laser that zaps up to 40 small holes into the heart itself. The Food and Drug Administration approved PLC Medical Systems' controversial Heart Laser System this week but warned it is only for patients whose debilitating "stable angina" pain is not helped by conventional therapy. That's because the laser could cause dangerous reactions, including irregular heartbeats, heart attacks, even death, the FDA said. (Source: The Associated Press)

Algos Completes Full NDA Filing With The Food And Drug Administration For MorphiDex (8/20/98)

Algos Pharmaceutical Corporation this week announced that it has completed its full filing for a New Drug Application (NDA) with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its lead analgesic product, MorphiDex^(R). MorphiDex's proposed initial indication is for moderate-to-severe cancer pain. The complete NDA filing includes data from 14 separate studies involving more than 1,500 patients. Algos will fund the NMDA-Receptor Antagonist Analgesic Technology Symposium in November during the American Pain Society's Annual Meeting (Source: Business Wire)

Arthritis Foundation Survey: Rheumatoid Arthritis Limits Ability To Lead A Fully Productive Life (8/20/98)

More than two-thirds of people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) say the condition prevents them from living a fully productive life, and when at its worst, RA impedes interaction with other people leading to loneliness and isolation, according to a survey commissioned by the Arthritis Foundation. The comprehensive survey of people with RA and physicians who treat RA demonstrates that general practitioners and Rheumatologists alike acknowledge their patients' assessment that RA, which affects one in 100 American adults and children, can be a life-altering condition. However, with early diagnosis and treatment, the impact of the disease can be minimized. (Source: Arthritis Foundation via PR Newswire)

Law Threatens Right To Pain Relief, Groups Say (8/20/98)

Proposed legislation aimed at stopping doctors from helping people kill themselves may also stop them from giving adequate pain relief to patients, several groups said this week. Doctors, nurses and people suffering from chronic pain all spoke out against the proposed measure, virtually identical versions of which are making their way through House and Senate committees. Bennett described the case of a 15-year-old cancer patient who needed 46 times the normal dose of a painkiller, Fentanyl, just to control her pain. (Source: Reuters)

Steroid Drugs Best For Carpal Tunnel (8/19/98)

Corticosteroids are the most effective oral medications available for reducing the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, conclude Taiwanese investigators led by Dr. Ming-Hong Chang of Veterans General Hospital-Kaohsiung in Kaohsiung. Their report appears in the August issue of the journal Neurology. Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is characterized by persistent numbness, tingling or pain in the wrist and hand. The condition is a leading cause of worker disability, and the repetitive motions involved in certain types of jobs have been suggested as a possible cause. (Source: Neurology 1998;51:390-393 via Reuters)

The Group Room' Helps Listeners Learn To Manage Pain; Aug. 23 Radio Show Provides Expert Advice On Pain Control (8/17/98)

Pain or concern of the development of pain is one of the major fears that cancer patients have. Vital Options^(R), the national cancer support and communications organization based in Los Angeles, will help patients to identify, communicate and manage pain on the Sunday, Aug. 23 broadcast of "The Group Room^(R," the syndicated radio cancer talk show produced by Vital Options. "The Group Room" is North America's only talk show for cancer patients, their families, friends, and health care professionals. "Pain Management'' will feature the expertise of Matthew E. Conolly, M.D., a faculty member and former co-director of the Multi-disciplinary Pain Clinic at the UCLA Medical Center. (Source: Vital Options via PR Newswire)

August 8--August 14, 1998

Minimally Invasive Procedure To Relieve Debilitating Angina Pain Using Excimer Laser Tested On Animal Subjects (8/13/98)

A minimally invasive investigational coronary procedure designed to treat patients with continuous, debilitating cardiac chest pain, or angina, using an excimer laser catheter from The Spectranetics Corporation has been tested on animal subjects. PTMR involves making tiny holes -- about 1 millimeter in diameter -- into the heart wall, starting from the inside of the heart. This minimally invasive procedure is performed by guiding a special catheter through the subject's arteries to the inside of the heart. Dr. Steve Ettinger, a cardiologist at the Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Penn., performed Percutaneous Transluminal Myocardial Revascularization (PTMR) on the inside of the beating heart of a pig. (Source: The Spectranetics Corporation via PR Newswire)

The Medicines Company Acquires Novel Treatment For Acute Migraine Headache From Immunotech (8/13/98)

The Medicines Company and Immunotech S.A. this week announced that The Medicines Company has acquired from Immunotech exclusive worldwide rights to IS-159, a highly selective 5-HT receptor agonist, for the treatment of acute migraine headache. In completed double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials, the compound has shown excellent activity in rapidly relieving migraine symptoms. This clinical performance reflects a unique pharmacological profile previously demonstrated in Phase I-II studies. (Source: The Medicines Company via PR Newswire)

Appendicitis Less Of A Guessing Game With New Diagnostic Tool (8/10/98)

If you or someone you know well has had appendicitis, you may have some idea how difficult (and painful) it is to diagnose. Most ER docs poke you in the stomach and ask "Does that hurt?" Then they put you off in a corner to see if the pain goes away. If it doesn't, you get cut open. That lack of a diagnostic "gold standard" leads to a very large number of malpractice lawsuits connected to appendectomies. That should change with a new imaging agent named LeuTech (by Princeton, N.J.-based Palatin Technologies), going into FDA Phase 3 in three weeks. It should be on the market early next year. (Source: Business Wire)

August 1--August 7, 1998

The Journal Of Pediatrics Publishes Study On The Use Of Iontophoresis For Reducing Pain Of Needle Sticks (8/6/98)

A recent study, "Lidocaine Iontophoresis for Topical Anesthesia Before Intravenous Line Placement in Children," published in the June 1998 issue of The Journal of Pediatrics concluded that lidocaine iontophoresis reduces the pain children feel from needle sticks. Iontophoresis is a needle-free method of delivering certain types of medication directly into and through the skin using a mild, low-level electric current. In the double-blind, randomized study of 42 children ages 7-18 years, researchers used IOMED^(R) Inc.'s iontophoretic drug delivery system to measure the effectiveness of lidocaine iontophoresis for reducing the pain associated with needle insertion compared with receiving placebo therapy. (Source: Business Wire)

Call For Improved Care For Dying Patients (8/5/98)

About half of adults in their last 2 days of life experience pain, suggesting that new plans must be designed to address the needs of dying patients, according to a study. Such plans could anticipate the psychological, emotional, and spiritual needs that may arise for the patient and family, said lead author Dr. Sarah Goodlin of Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, New Hampshire, in an interview with Reuters Health. Goodlin and colleagues reviewed the medical records of 104 patients who had died at a teaching hospital or at an affiliated Veterans Affairs hospital. The results were published in the July 27 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. (Source: Reuters)

Take Two Aspirin For Re-Leaf? (8/5/98)

Aspirin helps ease the aches and pains suffered by plants much in the way it helps people and animals, researchers say. They said their findings shed more light on the "pain" mechanism that plants have, which is similar to that of animals. Researchers in the past have found that plants do register injury, and can release chemical signals to alert their neighbors. An example is the acacia tree, which responds to browsing by animals by sending chemical signals into the air. Neighboring trees respond by producing a chemical in their leaves that tastes nasty. Writing in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the international team found that aspirin, a broad-acting painkiller, can block this signal in plants. (Source: Reuters)