Psychology & Psychiatry

The soothing effects of strangers

Is pain treatment more helpful if it is provided by a friend, or is the help of a stranger better? A study conducted by researchers from the Universities of Wuerzburg, Amsterdam and Zurich investigated this question and found ...

Medications

Social inequity linked to lower use of epidural in childbirth

In a study of women in labor in the U. S., social inequity was associated with lower use of neuraxial analgesia—an epidural or spinal pain reliever— among non-Hispanic white women and, to a greater extent, among African ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

COVID-19 diagnosed in 0.1 percent of neonates

Few neonates have severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection, and most are asymptomatic or develop mild illness, according to a study published online Aug. 23 in Pediatrics.

Medical research

Researchers reveal neural mechanisms underlying opioid analgesia

A new study published in eLife by researchers from Dr. Sun Yangang's Lab at the Institute of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology (CEBSIT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has ...

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Analgesic

An analgesic (also known as a painkiller) is any member of the group of drugs used to relieve pain (achieve analgesia). The word analgesic derives from Greek an- ("without") and algos ("pain").

Analgesic drugs act in various ways on the peripheral and central nervous systems; they include paracetamol (para-acetylaminophenol, also known in the US as acetaminophen), the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as the salicylates, and opioid drugs such as morphine and opium. They are distinct from anesthetics, which reversibly eliminate sensation.

In choosing analgesics, the severity and response to other medication determines the choice of agent; the WHO pain ladder, originally developed in cancer-related pain, is widely applied to find suitable drugs in a stepwise manner. The analgesic choice is also determined by the type of pain: for neuropathic pain, traditional analgesics are less effective, and there is often benefit from classes of drugs that are not normally considered analgesics, such as tricyclic antidepressants and anticonvulsants.

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