(Reuters) – An Oklahoma judge on Friday said Johnson & Johnson must pay that state $465 million for fueling the opioid epidemic through the deceptive marketing of painkillers, down from his original award of $572 million. The decision by Cleveland County Distr... More »
CLEVELAND (Reuters) – A landmark trial over the U.S. opioid epidemic is on track to begin on Monday after drug companies and local governments failed to agree on a settlement on Friday that had been expected to be valued at around $50 billion. Top executives o... More »
(Reuters) – From the start of the sprawling U.S. litigation seeking to hold drugmakers and distributors liable for the country’s opioid epidemic, Judge Dan Polster has made one thing clear: he never wanted a trial. On Friday, Polster will make his most dramati... More »
(Reuters Health) – A virtual reality program with cartoon characters may reduce children’s fear before imaging procedures, a South Korean study suggests. Compared to verbal instructions, a virtual reality experience that explained the process of chest X-rays i... More »
(Reuters Health) – About one in five kids are prescribed opioids after common pediatric surgeries, but a new study suggests they may do just as well with alternative pain relievers like acetaminophen or ibuprofen. From 1999 to 2016, opioid-related overdoses ro... More »
NORMAN, Okla./BOSTON (Reuters) – An Oklahoma judge on Monday ordered Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) to pay $572.1 million to the state for its part in fueling an opioid epidemic by deceptively marketing addictive painkillers, a sum that was substantially less than ... More »
(Reuters) – Oklahoma’s attorney general is expected on Monday to urge a judge to find Johnson & Johnson responsible for flooding the market with painkillers and fueling the U.S. opioid epidemic, as the first trial in nationwide litigation over the drug crisis ... More »
(Reuters Health) – A class of medications used for nerve and muscle pain, including the popular drug Lyrica, increases users’ risks for suicidal behavior, unintentional overdoses, injuries and car accidents – and the risks are particularly high for teens and y... More »
BOSTON/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd said on Sunday it had agreed to pay an $85 million settlement with the state of Oklahoma days before the company was set to face trial over allegations that it and other drugmakers helped fuel the... More »
(Reuters Health) – Surgery for shoulder pain that isn’t caused by an injury has no better results than nonsurgical options or placebo surgery, and comes with potential harms, an expert panel has concluded. The international panel of clinicians, researchers and... More »
(Reuters Health) – Patients may have less access to palliative care at U.S. hospitals that primarily serve minorities, a study suggests. Minorities in the U.S. often receive worse healthcare and have worse outcomes, researchers note in JAMA Network Open. Non-w... More »
(Reuters Health) – Patients undergoing surgery don’t often receive practical advice about what to do and what to expect during the recovery process, says a surgeon who has been on the giving and receiving end of post-op instructions. These directions need a mo... More »
(Reuters Health) – The vaccine Shingrix prevents shingles, and if people do contract the virus, it reduces the severity of illness, two company-funded study suggests. Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, typically develops in older adults who had chicken pox... More »
(Reuters Health) – Giving birth in water, also known as immersion labor and delivery or waterbirth, appears safe for mother and baby, at least when it takes place in a hospital. Increasing numbers of women choose to labor and give birth in water, particularly ... More »
(Reuters Health) – Eating super-hot chili peppers can have painful effects that extend beyond a blazing mouth, doctors warn. After downing a “Carolina Reaper,” billed as the world’s hottest chili pepper at the time, a 34-year-old man developed intense head and... More »
Flexion Therapeutics Inc said its injectable drug to treat osteoarthritis-related knee pain was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, sending the drug developer's shares soaring to a record high in regular trading on Friday. More »
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on Friday proposed a 20 percent reduction in the manufacture of certain commonly prescribed opioid painkillers as well as other controlled substances for next year. More »
By Andrew M. Seaman(Reuters Health) – The United States needs to curb excessive opioid prescribing and improve access to pain management techniques, More »
Endo International Plc said on Thursday it agreed to withdraw its long-acting opioid painkiller Opana ER from the market after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declared its benefit did not outweigh public health risks associated with opioid abuse. More »
A synthetic version of a medicine traditionally extracted from chili plant relieved knee pain among osteoarthritis patients for up to six months, data showed, bringing Centrexion Therapeutics a step closer to developing a safe and effective analgesic. More »
By Anne HardingOlder people who eat the most fiber are at lower risk of developing knee pain and stiffness due to osteoarthritis (OA), new research s More »
By Marilynn Larkin(Reuters Health) – Surgery won’t cure chronic knee pain, “locking,” “clicking,” a torn meniscus, or other problems related to knee More »
By Andrew M. Seaman(Reuters Health) – Where medical marijuana is legal, adults are more likely to use the drug illegally and are at an increased ris More »
By Lisa Rapaport(Reuters Health) – – Spinal manipulation therapy may work as well for easing lower back pain as anti-inflammatory medications, a rese More »
By Ronnie Cohen(Reuters Health) – The drugstore chain Walgreens is taking a three-pronged approach to combat the public health crisis stemming from p More »
By Carolyn CristEven without high blood pressure or other signs of illness, obese adults have a much higher risk of developing heart disease than nor More »
The benefits of Endo International Plc’s long-acting opioid painkiller no longer outweigh its risks, an independent panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concluded on Tuesday. More »
By Carolyn Crist(Reuters Health) – Opioid pain relievers such as codeine and hydrocodone often aren’t stored safely in households with children, acco More »
The number of deadly heroin overdoses in the United States more than quadrupled from 2010 to 2015, a federal agency said on Friday, as the price of the drug dropped and its potency increased. More »
By Ronnie Cohen(Reuters Health) – Every 25 minutes, a drug-addicted baby is born in the U.S. To try to protect the youngest victims of the na More »
By Shereen Lehman(Reuters Health) – For people with a certain type of migraine headache, regular acupuncture treatments may help reduce the frequency More »
By Shereen Lehman(Reuters Health) – A web-based program of exercise and coping skills training improves both function and pain in arthritic knees, a More »
By Lisa Rapaport(Reuters Health) – The number of older adults taking at least three prescriptions for psychotropic drugs – which includes opioids, an More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved Egalet Corp’s long-acting opioid painkiller, Arymo ER, and will allow the company to claim it deters abuse by those seeking to dissolve and inject it. More »
By Randi Belisomo(Reuters Health) – To humanize the intensive care unit and comfort families of the dying, Canadian doctors have found a way to elici More »
By Gene Emery(Reuters Health) – Two of the largest suppliers of the life-saving drug naloxone have dramatically increased their prices in recent year More »
By Lisa Rapaport(Reuters Health) – Infants who nurse during vaccinations may cry less and feel less pain than babies who are soothed in other ways, a More »
By Kathryn Doyle(Reuters Health) – For patients with advanced cancer, palliative care should start early and be an integral part of treatment, not ju More »
Health insurer Cigna Corp has discontinued its policy of requiring doctors to seek authorization before treating opioid addicts, as part of a fight against an epidemic of opioid abuse, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said on Friday. More »
By Andrew M. Seaman More »
By Linda Thrasybule More »
An experimental, long-acting painkiller made by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd does not have abuse-resistant properties when taken orally, according to a preliminary review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The drug, whose proposed trade name is Va... More »
U.S. Food and Drug Administration staff released voting questions on Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd’s long-acting opioid painkiller for a panel of independent experts who will recommend to the agency whether to approve the drug. An FDA spokesman on Friday ... More »
(Reuters Health) – A therapeutic program of weight-bearing exercise reduces pain and improves joint function, at least for two to six months, for people with osteoarthritis, according to a review of previous trials. “We had a systematic review for Cochrane fro... More »
WASHINGTON Scientists have invented a speedy method to make potent painkilling opioids using bioengineered baker’s yeast instead of poppies, but need to fine-tune the process to make it commercially viable, according to a study published on Thursday. The new m... More »
LONDON Scientists have identified a key gene used by poppies to make morphine, paving the way for better methods of producing the medically important drug, potentially without the need for cultivating poppy fields. The latest finding follows recent success in ... More »
