http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. In a major breakthrough, an international team of scientists has proven that addiction to morphine and heroin can be blocked, while at the same time increasing pain relief. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-scientists-block-heroin-morphine-addiction.html Neuroscience Tue, 14 Aug 2012 17:00:02 EST news264160153 Many people have probably heard of off-label drug use, but they may not know when that applies to prescriptions they are taking, a Mayo Clinic analysis found. Off-label drug use occurs when a physician prescribes medication to treat a condition before that use has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. In a newly published article in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, researchers pose and answer 10 questions about off-label drug use. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-off-label-drug-common-patients-theyre.html Medications Mon, 06 Aug 2012 12:04:10 EST news263473443 (HealthDay) -- As part of its efforts to curb the abuse of narcotic painkillers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is requiring drug makers to educate doctors about the risks of long-acting and extended-release forms of the drugs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-dangers-long-acting-pain-meds-fda.html Medications Mon, 09 Jul 2012 17:44:05 EST news261074633 Feeling full involves more than just the uncomfortable sensation that your waistband is getting tight. Investigators reporting online on July 5th in the Cell Press journal Cell have now mapped out the signals that travel between your gut and your brain to generate the feeling of satiety after eating a protein-rich meal. Understanding this back and forth loop between the brain and gut may pave the way for future approaches in the treatment and/or prevention of obesity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-protein-meal-brain-full.html Medical research Thu, 05 Jul 2012 12:00:06 EST news260705214 Genetics play a significant role in determining which patients will suffer the most from the disturbing side effects of opiates, commonly prescribed painkillers for severe to moderate pain, according to a new Stanford University School of Medicine study, which pinpoints nausea, slowed breathing and potential for addiction as heritable traits. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-opiates-side-effects-rooted-patients.html Medical research Wed, 20 Jun 2012 08:46:31 EST news259400592 French researchers have found a way to identify quickly the 5-10% of patients in whom the commonly used painkiller, tramadol, does not work effectively. A simple blood test can produce a result within a few hours, enabling doctors to switch a non-responding patient on to another painkiller, such as morphine, which will be able to work in these patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-quick-simple-patients-painkiller-tramadol.html Medications Sun, 10 Jun 2012 12:21:38 EST news258549679 Neuropathic pain, caused by nerve or tissue damage, is the culprit behind many cases of chronic pain. It can be the result of an accident or caused by a variety of medical conditions and diseases such as tumors, lupus, and diabetes. Typically resistant to common types of pain management including ibuprofen and even morphine, neuropathic pain can lead to lifelong disability for many sufferers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-drug-resistant-chronic-pain.html Neuroscience Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:10:01 EST news255009100 (HealthDay) -- Researchers have identified three previously unreported instances of severe opioid-induced toxicity in children following adenotonsillectomy for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, according to a case report published online April 9 in Pediatrics. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-highlights-child-deaths-post-surgery-codeine.html Sleep apnea Mon, 09 Apr 2012 13:50:02 EST news253195977 A University of Colorado Boulder-led research team has discovered that two protein receptors in the central nervous system team up to respond to morphine and cause unwanted neuroinflammation, a finding with implications for improving the efficacy of the widely used painkiller while decreasing its abuse potential. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-morphine-side-effects.html Medical research Mon, 02 Apr 2012 15:00:12 EST news252585704 By reformulating the common cancer drug imatinib (Gleevec), researchers have eliminated morphine tolerance in rats – an important step toward improving the effectiveness of chronic pain management in patients, according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-reformulated-imatinib-morphine-tolerance-lab.html Medications Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:06:47 EST news249041188 An attentive, nurturing mother may be able to help her children better resist the temptations of drug use later in life, according to a study in rats conducted by Duke University and the University of Adelaide in Australia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-mother-drug-cravings.html Neuroscience Tue, 06 Dec 2011 17:29:11 EST news242414937 In Britain, the popular U.S. painkiller OxyContin is considered similar to morphine and used sparingly. Vicodin isn't even licensed. And at most shops, remedies like ibuprofen are sold only in 16-pill packs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-painkillers-british.html Medications Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:58:31 EST news240166683 US Marines badly wounded in Afghanistan may get a "lollipop" with a powerful pain killer from now on instead of the traditional shot of morphine, a Marine Corps spokesman said Tuesday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-wounded-marines-lollipop-ease-pain.html Medications Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:49:37 EST news239377745 (Medical Xpress) -- Morphine's analgesic properties are as potent as its addictive potential are problematic. The neural pathway for that addiction is typically associated with dopamine (DA) neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA), despite the fact that the specific neuronal mechanisms involved are not well articulated. Recently, however, research conducted at the Université de Bordeaux and Université de Strasbourg in France found that morphine increases the firing of dopamine neurons by activating μ opioid receptor (μOR) receptors on the rostromedial tegmental nucleus (the VTA's GABAergic tail) – and that there is no morphine-induced activation of dopamine neurons in the absence of tonic VTA glutamatergic modulation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-brain-drugs-neural-anatomy-physiology.html Neuroscience Tue, 04 Oct 2011 12:00:01 EST news236946333 In advance of a United Nations conference today on the global challenges of treating cancer and other diseases, the UBC Graduate School of Journalism has launched an ambitious multimedia site, The Pain Project, which documents one of the greatest challenges to treating chronic illnesses: severely constrained access to morphine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-ubc-journalism-documents-global-pain.html Other Mon, 19 Sep 2011 09:48:09 EST news235644474 Action is needed to tackle the increasing number of deaths in the United States and Canada from prescription painkillers known as opioids, say experts in the British Medical Journal today. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-deaths-strong-prescription-painkillers.html Medications Wed, 24 Aug 2011 03:50:35 EST news233376627