Topic: Cone snail venom controls pain

Cone snail venom controls pain

Hidden in the mud, the cone snail Conus purpurascens lies in
wait for its victims. It attracts its prey, fish, with its proboscis, which can
move like a worm, protruding from the mud. Once a fish approaches out of
curiosity, the snail will rapidly shoot a harpoon at it, which consists of an
evolutionarily modified tooth. The paralyzed victim then becomes an easy meal.

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Topic: Drug Shortages

Drug Shortages

FDA takes great efforts, within its legal authority, to address and prevent drug shortages, which can occur for many reasons, including manufacturing and quality problems, delays, and discontinuations. The agency works closely with manufacturers of drugs in short supply to communicate the issue and to help restore availability. FDA also works with other firms who manufacturer the same drug, asking them to increase production, if possible, in order to prevent or reduce the impact of a shortage.

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Topic: How FDA Evaluates Regulated Products: Drugs

How FDA Evaluates Regulated Products: Drugs

The Food and Drug Administration’s Strategic Action Plan for Risk Communication is an initiative to tell consumers how the agency makes decisions on the safety and effectiveness of FDA-regulated products. This is the first in a series of articles about the data and methods—and their limitations—that FDA uses to determine whether products are safe for patients and consumers to use.

This is how the agency’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research evaluates the safety and effectiveness of drugs. The Regulation of Drugs



How the Facts Are Collected:  

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Topic: FDA approves Impavido to treat tropical disease leishmaniasis

FDA approves Impavido to treat tropical disease leishmaniasis

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Impavido (miltefosine) to treat a tropical disease called leishmaniasis.

Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by Leishmania, a parasite which is transmitted to humans through sand fly bites. The disease occurs primarily in people who live in the tropics and subtropics. Most U.S. patients acquire leishmaniasis overseas.

Impavido is an oral medicine approved to treat the three main types of leishmaniasis: visceral leishmaniasis (affects internal organs), cutaneous leishmaniasis (affects the skin) and mucosal leishmaniasis (affects the nose and throat). It is intended for patients 12 years of age and older. Impavido is the first FDA-approved drug to treat cutaneous or mucosal leishmaniasis.

“Today’s approval demonstrates the FDA’s commitment to making available therapeutic options to treat tropical diseases,” said Edward Cox, M.D., director of the Office of Antimicrobial Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

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Definition of Alternative Medicine

Definition of Alternative Medicine

Alternative medicine is any of a wide range of health care practices, products and therapies, using methods of medical diagnosis and treatments which, at least up to the end of the twentieth century, were typically not included in the degree courses of established medical schools teaching western medicine, including surgery, in the tradition of the Flexner Report or similar.[1][2] Examples include homeopathy, Ayurveda, chiropractic and acupuncture.
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Complementary and alternative medicine You've heard the hype about complementary and alternative medicine. Now get the facts.

Complementary and alternative medicine
You've heard the hype about complementary and alternative medicine. Now get the facts.
By Mayo Clinic staff

Complementary and alternative medicine has never been more popular. Nearly 40 percent of adults report using complementary and alternative medicine, also called CAM for short. Doctors are embracing CAM therapies, too, often combining them with mainstream medical therapies — spawning the new term "integrative medicine." But what is CAM? This guide explains the ABCs of CAM.
What are some examples of complementary and alternative medicine?
Exactly what's considered complementary and alternative medicine changes constantly as treatments undergo testing and 
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Topic: What to Do When Pain Medication Is Dulling Your Sex Life

What to Do When Pain Medication Is Dulling Your Sex Life

Chronic pain, on its own, can interfere with a healthy sex life, but sometimes the drugs that patients rely on to relieve their pain are the problem. Many painkilling medications can cause physiological changes that affect sexual functioning.



Opioids—a common class of drugs for chronic pain whose brand names include Vicodin, Percocet, and OxyContin—are among the worst offenders, says Todd Sitzman, MD, a past president of the American Academy of Pain Medicine. According to studies, opioids can lower testosterone levels, suppress sexual function in men, and cause erectile dysfunction. They can also contribute to low libido and difficulty with orgasm in both sexes. To read more of this article please click on the link:

http://www.chronicintractablepainandyou.net/apps/forums/topics/show/12844976-what-to-do-when-pain-medication-is-dulling-your-sex-life

Topic: How to Keep Your Marriage Healthy When One of You Is in Pain

How to Keep Your Marriage Healthy When One of You Is in Pain 

For many chronic pain patients, their spouse can do a tremendous amount to help, but the patient, in the end, is isolated with his or her pain. The burden of living with it and helping with it can put an enormous strain on even the happiest marriage. 

Jan, 45, of Boulder, Colo., recognizes that her chronic back pain has been very hard on her marriage.

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6 Mistakes Pain Patients Make - Getting the best care

6 Mistakes Pain Patients Make - Getting the best care

Getting the best care

It's not uncommon for chronic pain patients to report a difficult encounter with a doctor.

"One of the things that patients cry out the most for is having someone actually listen to them and understand them," says Micke Brown, director of advocacy at the American Pain Foundation.

Andrea Cooper, 52, a fibromyalgia patient and patient advocate in Phoenix, Md., agrees, but also notes that a patient's actions can sometimes make a doctor's job harder.

Here's how to avoid the top six pain patient no-no's.

Arriving unprepared

Cooper recommends writing down questions in order of priority, keeping a pain diary, and having medication refill needs on hand. To read more, please click the link:

http://www.drpattysnewcipaycourseonhowtobeabetteradvocate.net/apps/forums/topics/show/12843664-6-mistakes-pain-patients-make-getting-the-best-care

Topic: Alcohol and pain

Alcohol and pain:

People have been using alcohol to cope with pain since the beginning of human history. Many people also use alcohol as a way to manage stress, and chronic pain is a significant stressor. Research studies have found that as many as 28% of people with chronic pain use alcohol as a pain management strategy.
This research also indicates that men are more likely to have used alcohol as a pain management strategy than women. People with higher income also may tend to use alcohol more. The use of alcohol to help control pain seems to be connected with the frequency of pain, as those with more frequent pain used more alcohol. The use of alcohol was not related to how intense the pain was, or how long a person had been living with pain. It’s the regularity of pain symptoms that seems most connected to the use of alcohol to relieve pain. To read more, please click the link:
http://www.chronicintractablepainandyou.net/apps/forums/topics/show/12843630-alcohol-and-pain

Topic: What is acid reflux? What causes acid reflux?

What is acid reflux? What causes acid reflux? 

Acid reflux is one of the top health-related internet search queries, a very common symptom of burning pain felt internally around the lower chest area, caused by stomach acid flowing back up into the food pipe. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD, or GORD for gastro-oesophageal reflux disease) is acid reflux more than twice a week. To read more, please click the link:

http://www.chronicintractablepainandyou.net/apps/forums/topics/show/12843604-what-is-acid-reflux-what-causes-acid-reflux-