Search results for "analgesics"

Breakthrough pain: On the road again

2009

Role of Levo-tetrahydropalmatine and its metabolites for management of chronic pain and opioid use disorders.

2021

Abstract Background Opioids have been prescribed to reduce suffering from pain and to enhance quality of life. Due to the addictive potential and the lack of other effective alternatives to treat severe acute and chronic pains, opioids remain a serious public health issue. While, opioids directly influence the drug-seeking behavior, tolerance and withdrawal processes, through neuroadaptation, the brain's endogenous opioid system also adapts in the presence of chronic pain and could contribute to the difficulty of treatment. Despite the seemingly obvious interaction between the presence of pain and opioid-abuse, little is known about the underlying mechanisms in the brain. Purpose To review …

Recent progress in the pharmacotherapy of cancer pain.

2001

Cancer pain can be relatively well managed with primary therapies, according to the WHO ladder. However, different conditions may limit the response to the analgesic drug used, which are mainly oploids. Specifically, adverse effects may prevail against the analgesic activity in the clinical setting. New pharmacological strategies may enable a more satisfactory response to be obtained, in terms of balance between analgesia and adverse effects. The change of route of administration or the use of alternative opioids is a first-line option. The use of adjuvant drugs may also improve analgesia with different mechanisms. Recent studies have demonstrated the value of these alternative approaches. …

New drugs for pain management in advanced cancer patients.

2017

Advanced cancer patients represent a frail population, often requiring aggressive pain management, particularly in the late stage of disease, when untreated pain is one the most important causes of suffering. Areas covered: In the last decade, a series of new analgesics have been introduced in the market to offer additional options amongst existent drugs. The characteristics of these drugs, their efficacy and tolerability are examined on the basis of existent studies. Expert opinion: Although new analgesic preparations have been developed in recent years, no specific drug has provided a better analgesic performance in comparison with others. Some technologies have been developed to increase…

From political controversy to a technical problem? Fifteen years of opioid substitution treatment in Finland

2013

Abstract Background The aim of the article is to analyze changes in opioid substitution treatments (OST) in Finland. OST spread in Finland in the late 1990s and early 2000s (Phase 1). Since then, OST has become an integrated part of Finnish drug policy and is provided in various substance abuse treatment units as well as in municipal health centers (Phase 2). Methods The paper analyses the policy around the implementation of opioid substitution treatment in Finland, focusing on identifying the key factors and the relations between them that have contributed to the implementation of OST in Finland. Results OST has become accepted in Finland during the past ten years as a crucial element of a…

Status of hormones and painkillers in wastewater effluents across several European states-considerations for the EU watch list concerning estradiols …

2016

Present technologies for wastewater treatment do not sufficiently address the increasing pollution situation of receiving water bodies, especially with the growing use of personal care products and pharmaceuticals (PPCP) in the private household and health sector. The relevance of addressing this problem of organic pollutants was taken into account by the Directive 2013/39/EU that introduced (i) the quality evaluation of aquatic compartments, (ii) the polluter pays principle, (iii) the need for innovative and affordable wastewater treatment technologies, and (iv) the identification of pollution causes including a list of principal compounds to be monitored. In addition, a watch list of 10 o…

Pharmacotherapy for Breakthrough Cancer Pain

2012

Breakthrough pain (BTP) is a transient exacerbation of pain that occurs either spontaneously, or in relation to a specific predictable or unpredictable trigger, despite relatively stable and adequately controlled background pain. The principal pharmacological treatment of BTP is represented by the administration of opioids as needed. Oral opioids have traditionally been the only available drugs for BTP. However, the onset and duration of action of oral opioids such as morphine or oxycodone may not be suitable for treating many episodes of BTP that are of short onset and duration. Transmucosal administration of lipophilic substances has gained a growing popularity in recent years due to the …

Intimate partner violence in older women in Spain: prevalence, health consequences, and service utilization.

2013

The purpose of this study is to estimate the prevalence of lifetime intimate partner violence (IPV) in older women and to analyze its effect on women"s health and Healthcare Services utilization. Women aged 55 years and over (1,676) randomly sampled from Primary Healthcare Services around Spain were included. Lifetime IPV prevalence, types, and duration were calculated. Descriptive and multivariate procedures using logistic and multiple lineal regression models were used. Of the women studied, 29.4% experienced IPV with an average duration of 21 years. Regardless of the type of IPV experienced, abused women showed significantly poorer health and higher healthcare services utilization compar…

Analgesic hypnotic treatment in a post-stroke patient

2021

In recent years, hypnotic suggestions have been used in several clinical conditions. This treatment is often used for anxiety treatment, somatization, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Hypnotic analgesia is one of the most clinically useful phenomena of hypnosis. The article describes the case of a patient who underwent hypnotic treatments for hypersensitivity and chronic pain. Results showed an improvement of pain control and a decrease of pain hypersensibility. In addition, during rehabilitative treatments, the patient reported a high level of compliance with the multidisciplinary team. These findings suggest that hypnosis could be a useful treatment for post-stroke pain management.

Antihyperalgesic and analgesic properties of the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist neramexane in a human surrogate model of neurogenic …

2006

Abstract NMDA-receptors are a major target in the prevention and treatment of hyperalgesic pain states in neuropathic pain. However, previous studies revealed equivocal results depending on study design and efficacy parameters. We tested the analgesic (generalized reduction of generation and processing of nociceptive signalling) and anti-hyperalgesic (prevention of central sensitization) properties of the NMDA-receptor antagonist neramexane and the potassium channel opener flupirtine in the intradermal capsaicin injection model. Furthermore, we tested the effect on pain summation (wind up). Eighteen healthy subjects received either a single dose of neramexane (40 mg p.o.), flupirtine (100 m…