INTRATHECAL CALCIUM CHANNEL BLOCKER EFFECTIVE FOR SEVERE CHRONIC PAIN

BALTIMORE (Reuters Health) Mar 18 - Intrathecal ziconotide seems to improve the sleep pattern in some patients with chronic severe pain, according to preliminary results presented at the 21st Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Pain Society (APS). Dr. Mike Royal, with the Pain Evaluation and Treatment Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and colleagues described results in patients with chronic, severe pain of malignant or nonmalignant origin treated with intrathecal ziconotide, which is an N-type, voltage-sensitive calcium channel blocker. Participants in the trial were treated as outpatients. Treatment consisted of a ziconotide titration/ ...

GENETIC POLYMORPHISM ASSOCIATED WITH ARTHRITIS SEVERITY AND SMOKING

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Mar 18 - Among women with rheumatoid arthritis, those who are smokers or ex-smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to develop severe disease, and those with a null polymorphism at the glutathione S-transferase M1 locus (GSTM1) are at risk for the severest disease, study results show. GSTM1 produces an enzyme that detoxifies carcinogens in tobacco smoke. "The prevalence of GSTM1 varies between different ethnic groups," Dr. Derek Mattey told Reuters Health. "For example, in Africans and African Americans, deletion of the GSTM1 gene is found in only 20% to 25% of individuals, compared to 50% to 55% of Caucasians. The ...

CDC LINKS INFECTIONS TO CONTAMINATED ALLOGRAFTS

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Mar 15 - Twenty-six cases of bacterial infections associated with musculoskeletal tissue allografts, including one fatal case, have been reported as of March 11th, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Writing in the March 15th issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, CDC investigators describes the case of a 23-year-old man who underwent reconstructive knee surgery in Minnesota in November 2001. Three days after the procedure, the patient developed pain and shock and died the following day. Postmortem blood cultures grew Clostridium sordellii. Of the 26 cases, 13 pati ...

ARTHRITIS-CAUSING ABILITY OF VARIOUS SALMONELLA SEROTYPES APPEARS SIMILAR

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Mar 13 - Regardless of the serotype isolated, after an outbreak of salmonella about in 1 in 10 patients will develop arthritis, according to a report published in the March issue of the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases. Dr. T. Hannu, from Helsinki University Central Hospital, and colleagues assessed the prevalence of reactive arthritis following an outbreak of Salmonella typhimurium in Finland in 1999. Sixty-three of the 78 patients with verified infection returned the study questionnaire, which focussed specifically on musculoskeletal symptoms. Five patients met criteria for reactive arthritis, the authors note. S ...

LOW-INTENSITY PULSED ULTRASOUND THERAPY APPEARS TO ACCELERATE FRACTURE HEALING

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Mar 13 - The results of a meta-analysis of data from randomized trials suggest that low-intensity pulsed ultrasound therapy may reduce the healing time of fractures managed nonoperatively, according to a recent report by Canadian investigators. Previous studies have yielded conflicting results regarding the benefits of ultrasound therapy for fractures. Potentially harmful effects linked to high-intensity continuous wave ultrasound has led to an absolute contraindication of such therapy in the presence of fractures. However, recent reports suggest that low-intensity pulsed ultrasound therapy may accelerate fracture ...

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