CHRONIC PAIN
• Wireless
Stimulation May Ease Migraine Pain as Well as Drugs: A wireless patch
that you wear on your arm may help reduce migraine pain as well as drugs. The
device uses electrical stimulation to block the pain signals from reaching the
brain. The patch uses rubber electrodes and a chip on an armband. The device
can be controlled by a smartphone app. Neurology
• Valium May be Useless for Acute Lower Back Pain: For decades,
emergency room staff often gave Valium to patients for an acute bout of bad
lower back pain. But a new head-to-head trial in an ER environment casts doubt
on the notion that Valium or potent painkillers can really help. As reported
Feb. 22 in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, the trial found that Aleve
(naproxen) and a "dummy" placebo pill were as effective as naproxen
plus Valium (diazepam) in treating ER patients with acute lower back pain.
• Proper movements in Muslim prayer ritual can reduce lower back pain: Research finds that pain
can be remedied with proper knee, back angles. Five times a day, roughly 1.6
billion Muslims worldwide, bow, kneel, and place their foreheads to the ground
in the direction of the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, as part of the
Islamic prayer ritual, the Salat. According to research, the complex physical
movements of the ritual can reduce lower back pain if performed regularly and
properly. Journal of Industrial and Systems Engineering
• Can staying active help to prevent chronic pain? Physical activity affects pain modulation in
older adults. Older adults with higher levels of physical activity have pain
modulation patterns that might help lower their risk of developing chronic
pain, reports a study. PAIN
• Is back pain
killing us? Older people who suffer from back pain have a 13 per cent
increased risk of dying from any cause, research has found. The study of 4390
Danish twins aged more than 70 years investigated whether spinal pain increased
the rate of all-cause and disease-specific cardiovascular mortality. European
Journal of Pain
• Mediterranean Diet May Ease Chronic Pain of Obesity: People who are overweight and
plagued by chronic pain may find relief in a Mediterranean diet, new research
suggests. The study of 98 men and women between the ages of 20 and 78 builds on
growing evidence that a diet heavy on fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts and beans
provides significant health benefits. It also sheds new light on why eating
these foods might reduce pain associated with obesity. Because obese people
with chronic pain usually also have a high degree of inflammation, lead
researcher Charles Emery suspects the foods' anti-inflammatory properties might
explain the reduced pain levels. Pain
• 1 in 4 US Adults Disabled by Arthritis: Overall, 54 million adults -- or one in four --
report an arthritis diagnosis. And the number of people disabled by it has
jumped 20 percent since 2002, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention reported. Almost two of five adults with arthritis are of working
age -- 18 to 64 years old. The most common types are osteoarthritis, which is
age-related wear and tear; rheumatoid arthritis; gout; lupus; and fibromyalgia.
Although narcotic painkillers are often prescribed for arthritis, other options
are safer, the CDC added. Instead of opioids, doctors and loved ones can
encourage people with arthritis to exercise and watch their weight. Exercise --
such as walking, swimming or biking -- can reduce symptoms by as much as 40
percent. Vital Signs
COMPLEMENTARY & ALTERNATIVE
MEDICINE
• Phage therapy shown to kill drug-resistant superbug. Phage therapy could offer a safe and
effective alternative to antibiotics in the treatment of Cystic Fibrosis lung
infections, researchers have demonstrated. Phages are viruses that kill
bacteria but are otherwise harmless. A major advantage is that phages only
target the harmful bacteria, so there are less side of the effects often
associated with antibiotics. Thorax
• Twice weekly yoga classes plus home practice effective in reducing symptoms of depression
People who suffer from depression should participate in yoga and deep
(coherent) breathing classes at least twice weekly plus practice at home to
receive a significant reduction in their symptoms. The intervention seemed
helpful for "people who are not on antidepressants and in those who have
been on a stable dose of antidepressants [but] have not achieved a resolution
of their symptoms,"
The Journal of
Alternative and Complementary Medicine
FDA ACTION
• Approves Odactra for House
Dust Mite Allergies
• Warns against
Whole Body Cryotherapy as exposure to ultra low temperatures show no benefits
and may be dangerous.
PREVENTION
• Type 2 diabetes prevented in 80 per cent of at-risk patients thanks to repurposed drug: A weight loss drug
has reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes by 80 per cent compared to placebo,
report investigators. After three years, the researchers found that the
patients given liraglutide were 80 per cent less likely to develop diabetes
than those in the placebo group. In 60 per cent of those patients, prediabetes
was reversed and patients returned to healthy blood sugar levels. The Lancet
• Exercise Beats Weight Loss at Helping Seniors’ Hearts: Research found
that getting active may do more for cardiovascular health in older adults than
losing weight does. A 15 year study found that among 5,300 people aged 55-97 at
the study’s start, no link was found between their body mass index (BMI) alone
and heart disease. BMI is an estimate of body fat based on weight and height --
the higher the number, the more fat. However, the study did find that physical
activity was tied to a lower risk of heart disease, no matter what a person's
BMI was. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology
• Hearing Aid Outcomes Found to benefit Older Adults: Hearing aids provide significant benefit to older adults, according to a
study published online March 2 in the American Journal of Audiology.
Benefits were similar for both the audiologist-fitted devices and
over-the-counter aids. But participants whose devices were fitted by an
audiologist expressed more satisfaction, the researchers found.
• Exercise Treatments Best for Reducing Cancer-Related Fatigue: Psychological
treatment and education can be useful, too, more so than drugs, researchers
find. Exercise and/or behavioral and educational therapy may be more effective
than prescription drugs for dealing with cancer-related fatigue, according to a
meta-analysis published online March 2 in JAMA Oncology.
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• How much sun
is good for our health? Researchers have estimated the duration of solar
radiation exposure required in order to obtain the recommended doses of
vitamin D. While in spring and summer 10 to 20 minutes in the sun are enough,
in the winter months almost two hours would be needed, therefore for the vast
majority of the population it is difficult to achieve the optimal values.
Every year, studies on the benefits of sunbathing in moderate doses are
interspersed with those that confirm the risks of doing it excessively.
Science of The Total Environment
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NUTRITION/SUPPLEMENTS/VITAMINS
• Older Bones Benefit From Dairy Plus Vitamin D: Consumption of milk,
yogurt and cheese was associated with higher bone mineral density in the spine
and less bone loss in the hip among older adults -- but only if they also took
vitamin D supplements. Journal of Nutrition
• Bad Diets Tied to 400,000 US Deaths in 2015: Unhealthy diets may have contributed to as many
as 400,000 premature deaths from heart disease and strokes in 2015, a new study
estimates. And, it's not just the things you should be avoiding -- such as salt
and trans fats -- that are contributing to these deaths. The excess deaths may
also be caused by what's missing in your diet -- namely, nuts and seeds,
vegetables and whole grains, the researchers said. AHA Meeting
• Downside to Gluten
Free Diets: In a large study of U.S. health professionals, scientists found
that those with the least gluten in their diets actually had a slightly higher
risk of developing type 2 diabetes over a few decades. The findings do not
prove that a low-gluten diet somehow contributes to diabetes. But the study
raises questions about the long-term benefits of avoiding gluten, which many
people assume to be a healthy move. American Heart Association Meeting
• Eight servings of veggies a day is clearly best for the heart A comprehensive meta-analysis
of 142 articles from 95 population studies shows that the risk of dying
prematurely from all causes was reduced by almost a third, and the risk of
cardiovascular disease by about a quarter in people who ate 800 grams of fruit
and vegetables-- or eight a day -- compared to those who ate very little or no
fruits and vegetables. International Journal of Epidemiology
TREATMENT
• Popular heartburn drugs linked to gradual yet 'silent' kidney damage: Most patients don't
experience acute kidney problems beforehand. The sudden onset of kidney
problems often serves as a warning for doctors to discontinue patients' use of
proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), sold under brand names Prevacid, Prilosec,
Nexium and Protonix, among others. But a new study indicates that more than
half of patients who develop chronic kidney damage while taking the drugs don't
experience acute kidney problems beforehand, according to researchers. Kidney
International
• Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug May Not Ease Chronic Fatigue Syndrome After All: A
small-scale clinical trial has cast doubt upon the potential usefulness of an
anti-inflammatory drug to treat chronic fatigue syndrome. Doctors had hoped
that anakinra (Kineret) -- a medication for rheumatoid arthritis -- also could
be used to relieve symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome. But after a month of
daily anakinra injections, a group of 25 women reported chronic fatigue
symptoms as severe as those experienced by a control group receiving placebo
shots, researchers reported. Annals of Internal Medicine
• Home Beats Rehab for Knee, Hip Replacement Recovery: Patients who go straight home
from the hospital following hip or knee replacement surgery recover as well as,
or better than, those who first go to a rehabilitation center, new research
indicates. And that includes those who live alone without family or
friends, one of three studies shows. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
meeting
• Taking Statins May Boost Heart Surgery Outcomes: Heart surgery patients taking statins should keep taking those
cholesterol-lowering drugs, even on the day of their operation, because doing
so may improve their chances of survival, a new study suggests. The Annals of
Thoracic Surgery
• Intensive Treatment
Shows Potential Against Type 2 Diabetes: Instead of managing type 2
diabetes as a chronic condition, what if people could beat the disease? That was the thinking behind a small pilot study, which
suggested that intensive treatment with oral medicine, insulin, diet and
exercise might knock out the disease, at least for several months, in certain
patients. Up to 40 percent of patients who were treated experienced complete or
partial remission for three months, the study found. Journal of Clinical
Endocrinology & Metabolism
• Estrogentherapy shown effective in reducing tooth and gum diseases in post menopausal women: Study links benefits of osteoporosis treatment with better
periodontal health. Estrogen therapy has already been credited with helping
women manage an array of menopause-related issues, including reducing hot
flashes, improving heart health and bone density, and maintaining levels of
sexual satisfaction. Now a new study suggests that the same estrogen therapy
used to treat osteoporosis can actually lead to healthier teeth and gums. Menopause
OTHER
• Longer Addiction Treatment is Better, Study Confirms: The only significant factor in
treatment success was the length of treatment. After one year, the treatment
success rate was about 55 percent for those who underwent a standard 30-day
treatment program. But the success rate was about 84 percent for those in
treatment programs that lasted more than 30 days, the investigators found. Open
Journal of Psychiatry
• Higher
Spending by Docs May Not Buy Better Health: Medicare patients treated by
higher-spending physicians are just as likely to be re-admitted or die within
30 days of being admitted to the hospital as patients treated by doctors who
order fewer or less-expensive tests and treatments, the study revealed.
"Spending more doesn't always mean you get better health." JAMA
Internal Medicine
• Common Blood Tests Can Help Predict Chronic Disease Risk: A score based on common blood
tests may someday help people gauge their risk of developing a chronic disease
like diabetes or dementia within three years of taking the test. The Intermountain Chronic Disease Risk Score was 77 to 78
percent accurate in predicting whether someone would be diagnosed with
diabetes, kidney failure, coronary artery disease and dementia, among other
illnesses. It's based on the results of a
comprehensive metabolic panel,
which includes tests for blood glucose and liver function, and
complete
blood count, which measures the quantity of different types of blood
cells. NPR
