WEDNESDAY, Aug. 10 (HealthDay News) — The first working, replacement anal sphincters have been built in a laboratory and tested on mice.
Now scientists hope the research will benefit humans with fecal and urinary incontinence, because current methods used to repair internal anal sphincters, such as skeletal muscle grafts, silicone injections or mechanical implants, have had only limited success.
THURSDAY, July 28 (HealthDay News) — Over the past two decades, the number of American adults with the painful joint disease gout has soared to 8.3 million, a new study finds.
The study’s authors blame the rise in gout — an inflammatory form of arthritis triggered by a buildup of uric acid in the joints — on rising rates of obesity and high blood pressure. They note that better prevention of these risk factors might help reduce the number of people developing the painful condition.
THURSDAY, July 7 (HealthDay News) — Individual concussion baselines need to be created for young athletes at the start of a playing season for them to be accurately diagnosed and treated if they suffer a concussion during the season, researchers report.
The investigators also noted that the sex of the players affects the scores on a standardized concussion assessment tool.
By Maureen Salamon
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, July 5 (HealthDay News) — Massage therapy may be better than medication or exercise for easing low back pain in the short term, a new government-funded study suggests.
Seattle researchers recruited 401 patients, mostly middle-aged, female and white, all of whom had chronic low back pain.
FRIDAY, July 1 (HealthDay News) — Lazanda (fentanyl) nasal spray has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat breakthrough pain in adults with cancer who are already receiving opioid therapy, drug maker Archimedes Pharma said.
Breakthrough pain occurs as an intense, unpredictable burst among people who are already receiving therapy for chronic pain. Lazanda is the first nasal spray containing the commonly prescribed opioid painkiller fentanyl, the company said in a news release. Lazanda is available in five European countries under the brand name PecFent.
WEDNESDAY, June 29 (HealthDay News) — Pain afflicts at least 116 million adults in the United States each year and costs the nation $560 billion to $635 billion annually in medical and economic costs, according to an Institute of Medicine report released Wednesday.
But most of this pain is preventable and could be better managed if public and private organizations worked together to achieve a cultural shift in how the nation understands and approaches pain management and prevention, according to the report authors.
MONDAY, June 20 (HealthDay News) — Oxecta, an abuse-resistant form of the top-selling painkiller oxycodone, has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The immediate-release medication contains niacin, which is designed to cause uncomfortable flushing and skin irritation if a person takes more than the recommended amount. Oxecta is similar to Purdue Pharma’s best-selling prescription painkiller Oxycontin, a long-acting opioid drug that’s commonly abused.
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, June 8 (HealthDay News) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday called for a label warning on the popular statin Zocor because of an increased risk of muscle damage when taken in the highest doses.
This risk has been seen among some people taking 80 milligrams of Zocor (simvastatin) a day, particularly during the first year of treatment, the agency said. In light of this, the FDA is recommending that this dose only be given to people who have not had any muscle problems over 12 months of taking the cholesterol-lowering drug.
WEDNESDAY, May 4 (HealthDay News) — U.S. health officials issued final guidance Wednesday for the production, marketing and distribution of liquid over-the-counter drug products that are measured and dispensed with provided devices such as spoons, cups and droppers.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration developed the guidance in response to concerns about the risk of overdoses when using liquid over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers, cold medicines, cough syrups and digestion aids if the dispensing devices included with the products have markings that are confusing, unclear or inconsistent with the dosage directions on the label.
TUESDAY, May 3 (HealthDay News) — Few Americans bother to read the labels on over-the-counter pain relievers, nor do they pay much attention to the drugs’ ingredients, a new study says.
This lack of awareness could be a main reason why acetaminophen overdose is a leading cause of acute liver failure in the United States, according to the researchers at Northwestern University in Chicago.
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