Acupuncture may be an effective way to treat depression during pregnancy, and to reduce the pain of menstrual cramps, according to new research into the health benefits of the ancient Chinese practice. One study, from researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine, found that women confronting depression during pregnancy
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I don’t particularly enjoy running. On the other hand, I don’t particularly enjoy being overweight and out of shape either, so I do it — usually about three times a week, depending on my work schedule and willpower. But over the years I’ve developed chronic soreness in my knees and lower back, which I attribute at least in …
More than three quarters of patients who underwent sinus surgery to combat chronic sinusitis—or persistent sinus infection—reported a significant reduction in pain and improvement in quality of life, according to a new study published in this month’s issue of the Archives of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery. Researchers
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Despite the prevalence of anecdotal evidence suggesting the benefits of exercise in reducing period-related discomfort, a new study from researchers at Birmingham University in England indicates that how much you work out may not necessarily impact the severity of menstrual cramps. The study, first highlighted by the BBC and published in
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A new study published in the journal Pain suggests that sympathizing with others’ discomfort may be entail more than kind words, and that for some people, witnessing others in pain actually does light up parts of the brain associated with pain-processing. Researchers at the University of Birmingham in England recruited 108 college
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Between 1991 and 2004, deaths due to opioid overdose more than doubled in Ontario, an alarming trend that corresponds with an increase in prescriptions for oxycodone, a narcotic pain killer derived from extracts of opium. What’s more, the introduction of oxycontin—a long-acting form of oxycodone—in 2000, was associated with a
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A centuries-old folk remedy for aches and pains just earned a nod of recognition from modern medicine: researchers from the U.K.’s Newcastle University determined that Hypnis crenata, or Brazilian mint, is an effective pain reliever. Researchers first traveled to Brazil to observe traditional preparation of the remedy to determine
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Research presented last week at a major cancer research conference suggests that morphine, which is regularly prescribed to cancer patients to treat pain, may actually spur cancer growth. For the past seven years, the notion that opiates might stimulate cancer growth has slowly been gaining attention in the medical research community,
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Around 1.5 million preventable medication errors occur in the American health system each year at a cost of over $4 billion annually, according to a new report released yesterday by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The report’s release marks the start of a new effort to reduce those numbers.
The FDA’s “Safe Use” …
A study published this week in Science suggests that the active ingredient in marijuana, cannabinoids—which include THC and other chemicals—may limit the body’s ability to tamp down pain responses, and, as a result, turn short term acute pain into more long term discomfort. While there has been a growing amount of research analyzing
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Some 100,000 kids end up in U.S. emergency rooms each year because they’ve accidentally been poisoned. No, they’re not all raiding the cupboard full of cleaning supplies. Close to 70% of those visits are from are overdoses of everyday over-the-counter drugs or prescription medications, according to a recent study by researchers at the …
You may have seen the recent (and well-publicized) study that shows redheads are more scared of the dentist than other people are. The idea is that the same gene variant that leads to red hair also — for some reason — makes people more susceptible to pain, and less receptive to the common anesthetics that a dentist might use before …
Scientists have found a way to manipulate the neurons in mice that respond to itch — and, in the process, have settled a longstanding debate: Is itchiness just a form of pain, or a separate, unique sensation?
It turns out the brain treats itch and pain completely differently, even though they can both be excruciating.
