Steve Anthony: True Canadian Pharmacy

p In the Aug. Our research shows one potential reason why swearing developed and why it persists. 5 issue of the journal NeuroReport, British researchers report that they found some volunteers were better able to withstand the pain from plunging their hand in a tub of ice water for as long as possible when they are asked to repeat a swear word of their choice compared with an inoffensive word. The results show swearing triggers both a physical and !–more– an emotional response, which could help explain why cursing developed and still exists. Since swearing often has a catastrophizing or exaggerating effect, psychology researcher Richard Stephens of Keele University, North Midlands, and his colleagues expected the bad words would actually decrease pain tolerance. Cursers showed increased heart rates, which suggest the profanities might trigger a natural fight-or-flight response of donwnplaying feebleness in favour of a more pain-tolerant machismo, the researchers said. Previous studies suggest swearing can provide an emotional release, while in other situations it can signal aggression. The observed pain-lessening [hypoalgesic] effect may occur because swearing induces a fight-or-flight response and nullifies the link between fear of pain and pain perception, they concluded. In the study, women’s heart rates increased more than men’s. It taps into emotional brain centres and appears to arise in the right brain, whereas most language production occurs in the left cerebral hemisphere of the brain. Fight-or-flight response? During the foul-mouthed test, volunteers kept their hands submerged for about 40 seconds longer and reported feeling less anxiety and less fear of the pain, the researchers found.
In contrast to their expectations, volunteers were able to keep their hands in the ice water for longer when repeating the swear word, showing a link between swearing and an increase in pain tolerance. Swearing also did not increase pain tolerance in men with a tendency to catastrophize, the researchers said. Swearing has been around for centuries and is an almost universal human linguistic phenomenon, Richards said in a release. Swearing when you hit your thumb or stub a toe may help to lessen the pain. The researchers suspect swearing helped to distract participants from their pain.

br /br /cbc.ca

p … She fell heavily on the floor, landing on her buttocks and lower back. The existence of the syndrome has been recognized by reputable experts and has been the subject of litigation. A Toronto-area woman left in chronic pain after a hospital bed-chair collapsed under her has won damages of more than $3 million — a sum her lawyer says may be unprecedented in a type of lawsuit where there is no physical evidence of injury.
Such cases are !–more– hard to bring to trial because people suffering from fibromyalgia don’t have any objective symptoms and the entire case rests on their credibility, he said. 5 million with interest and may constitute a Canadian record. Her lawyer, Alf Kwinter, said the total will be close to $3. The bed itself was actually a chair, which could be folded out into a bed. … She sat on the end of the bed nearest the telephone.
Degennaro, who lives in Mississauga, Ont. Its existence is discerned almost exclusively from subjective descriptions related by the injured party.
In this case, he said, the plaintiff’s evidence, which I accept, establishes that debilitating pain commenced immediately after the incident in May 1999. That is primarily because there is no certain cause, and there are hardly any objective symptoms. The next thing she knew, the bed buckled. ‘
A nurse showed her where she could sleep, the judge wrote. … However, the pain is real. She was unable to work or even help her children with their homework and her marriage deteriorated, the judge said. It was flat when it was first shown to Ms. Degennaro. , was eventually diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a disorder involving widespread pain in muscles, ligaments and tendons, debilitating fatigue and painful reactions to touch. However, the pain is real. Laying out the facts of the case in a 39-page judgment, Judge Douglas Gray of the Ontario Superior Court said Diane Degennaro took her two-year-old son to Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital with flu symptoms in May 1999 and stayed by his crib. ‘Chronic pain syndrome is viewed, in some quarters, with suspicion.
In his judgment, Gray wrote:
Chronic pain syndrome is viewed, in some quarters, with suspicion. She felt excruciating pain; she thinks she blacked out, she was dizzy and saw stars. I can’t tell you 100 per cent, he told CBC News on Tuesday, but I don’t know offhand of any chronic pain cases that have exceeded this amount of money. He ordered the hospital and its parent organization, Halton Healthcare Services, to pay her $3,073,210 plus pre-judgment interest. … This lady was a very, very believable plaintiff, and the judge obviously accepted her evidence entirely. Insurance companies usually go to great lengths to damage a plaintiff’s credibility, and if they do the case usually crashes and burns.

br /br /cbc.ca

p ‘s four facilities in Michigan. There could be shortages of a certain type of painkiller but alternatives are available, the U. S. Since January, Caraco has voluntarily recalled drugs the FDA deemed defective, including oversized pills with possible errors in contents due to manufacturing defects. manufacturer because of quality problems. Food and Drug Administration said after ordering the seizure of all drugs from a U. S. The FDA said its most !–more– recent inspection of Caraco, completed in May, found unresolved violations of manufacturing standards. Patients should continue taking any remaining drugs they have made by Caraco, she said. Caraco also makes generic cardiac and psychiatric medications. In a statement, the Detroit-based generic drug maker said third-party products which were not seized will generate enough profit to cover its operating expenses. Marshals to seize drug products manufactured at Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories Ltd. S. On Thursday, the FDA ordered U. The FDA has determined that the seizure of Caraco’s drugs may create a shortage of one product, choline magnesium trisalicylate oral tablets, which are commonly used as pain relievers, the agency said in news a release. The seizure may affect up to 33 drugs. The drug is used by only a small percentage of patients who can ask their doctor for alternatives, Autor said. This action follows the company’s continued failure to meet the FDA’s current good manufacturing practice requirements, which assure the quality of manufactured drugs, Deborah Autor, director of FDA’s Office of Compliance, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said during a teleconference. On Friday, Caraco said the estimated value of the inventory seized is $15 million to $20 million US.

br /br /cbc.ca

RHE UMATOLOGIC
DISORDERS          Arthur
A. Sch una, Section Ad visor
Patients with chronic pain who have
inadequate levels of vitamin D require almost twice the pain medications
as similar patients who have adequate l evels of vitamin D, according to
an article recently reported in
.
This retrospective analysis studied
267 chronic pain patients who were admitted to the Mayo Clinic
Compreh ensive Pain Rehabilitation Center (more…)

Sugar has a calming effect on babies that lasts beyond 10 minutes, new Toronto research suggests.
Researchers at the Hospital for Sick Children, the University of Toronto, Mount Sinai Hospital and York University studied 240 babies and their reactions after half were given sugar and the other half were given a placebo following a painful medical procedure.
The research involved measuring the “pain responses” of the babies during a diaper change (more…)

The art helped, when compared to looking at a blank wall, but listening to music was far more effective, she said. And you’re so emotionally tied to it, you’re so emotionally engaged, that it can actually take the pain away,” she said. cultural affairs show, music is the stimulus that most seems to keep people’s minds off the pain. ”
In January, Mitchell published a study in the journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, showing (more…)

In this week’s edition of the medical journal The Lancet, Dr. Michael Kochen of the department of general practice at the University of Göttingen in Germany, agreed that patient expectations need to be addressed, since exposure to radiation doses from X-rays or CT scans is an issue. “We need to identify back pain assessment and educational strategies that meet patient expectations and increase satisfaction, while avoiding unnecessary imaging. (more…)

Several manufacturers of a patch containing a chronic pain drug are changing dosing instructions to address potential overdose risks.
The five manufacturers of Fentanyl Transdermal Systems and Health Canada said the patches contain a high concentration of the long-acting narcotic fentanyl.
Last February, 25 mcg/hr Duragesic patches sold by Janssen-Ortho Inc. and 25 mcg/hr Ran Fentanyl Transdermal System Patches sold by Ranbaxy Laboratories were (more…)

This graphic illustrates the abnormal wiring in the right hemisphere of people with complex regional pain syndrome. The colours indicate areas of damage.
The brains of people with a chronic pain condition look like an inept cable worker rewired areas related to emotion, pain perception and skin temperature, a brain imaging study suggests.
In Wednesday’s issue of the journal Neuron, researchers reported using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to (more…)