Addiction

Research findings from a group of Midwest-based investigators suggest bipolar disorder (BD) is linked to different illness burdens in binge eaters compared to obese patients who do not experience compulsive episodes of uncontrollable overeating.

Researchers at the Hanyang University College of Medicine set the record straight on the association between IBS symptoms and methane and hydrogen gas produced by intestinal fermentation of lactulose and excreted in the breath during lactulose breath test.

Recognizing that melatonin secretion from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract improves abdominal pain in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) but decreases with age, Polish researchers from the Medical University of Lodz aimed to define the effect of administering melatonin in postmenopausal women with different predominating IBS symptoms.

The chronic constipation associated with conditions such as IBS can lead to serious health complications if left untreated.

As irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) remains a complicated condition to treat with an etiology that's still unknown, it's difficult for physicians to find the best proven therapies among new remedies and the variety of pharmacological and nondrug options they have been trying for years.

Patients taking linaclotide experience clinically meaningful improvement in abdominal and bowel symptoms, which closely correlate with the US Food and Drug Administration's new criteria for irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C).

Achieving safe, effective pain control for inpatients can challenge even experienced clinicians. Components of successful pain control include avoiding pain crises while still steering clear of respiratory depression, being confident with equianalgesic calculations, and transitioning to the outpatient setting.

Researchers claim that restricting dietary intake of fermentable short-chain carbohydrates improves GI symptoms in patients with IBS.

Declaring that the benefits of the original formulation of OxyContin no longer outweigh the risks of misuse and abuse, the FDA announced it would not approve any applications for non-tamper resistant formulations of the drug, a decision that could have far-reaching implications for all makers of opioid medications.

Pain has been associated with a number of conditions, including addiction, depression, and anxiety. Greater awareness of concurrent comorbid conditions and the options available to treat them produces better outcomes in chronic pain patients.

Switching from oral administration of the non-ergoline dopamine agonist, rotigotine, to a transdermal delivery system may improve gastrointestinal symptoms for patients with Parkinson's disease.

The push to provide better pain care and ensure adequate analgesia for patients living with chronic pain led to liberalized opioid prescription practices that have been accompanied by a massive increase in the abuse, misuse, and diversion of prescription opioids. Efforts to combat this include technological remedies such as "abuse-deterrent" formulations of opioids and educational approaches such as the REMS program approved by the FDA in 2012.

The goal of IBS management should be to improve overall symptoms, including altered stool frequency and consistency, abdominal pain and discomfort, bloating, and quality of life.

Adequate daily fiber intake confers multiple health benefits, including improved management of irritable bowel syndrome.

Expert advice from the 2013 AGA-ASGE Clinical Congress of Gastroenterology and Hepatology on managing diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain, and other symptoms associated with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Linzess (linaclotide capsules) was approved in August 2012 by the FDA as a once-daily treatment for adult men and women suffering from irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) or chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC).

The Canadian government's recent decision to allow the sale of a generic version of the original formulation of OxyContin could have serious consequences for efforts to curb opioid abuse, misuse, and diversion in the US.

Steve Gelfand, MD, secretary of Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing (PROP) responds to recent comments by Drs. Cole and Webster in Pain Management.

With most medical schools devoting only a few curriculum hours to pain management training, many physicians begin their medical career underprepared to meet the needs of patients suffering with chronic pain. Here, Barry Cole, MD, identifies several key concepts that would help improve pain care in the US if only more physicians would learn about them sooner.

This handy resource from the Pennsylvania Medical Society provides valuable guidance for clinicians and their staff on identifying patients who may abuse, misuse, or divert prescription opioids.

Jeanmarie Perrone, MD, coauthor of the recent NEJM article, "Medication Reconciliation for Controlled Substances - An ‘Ideal' Prescription-Drug Monitoring Program," discusses the current state of prescription drug monitoring programs around the country, several characteristics shared by successful programs, and the difficulty of getting physicians and patients to grasp the scope of the opioid abuse epidemic.

Properties that enable applications in both pain management and addiction medicine make buprenorphine unique among opioids.

Study shows that vets with PTSD are more likely to be prescribed opioids for pain.

Risk management with patients on opioid therapy offers the opportunity to improve communication and strengthen the physician-patient relationship.

"Urine drug testing (UDT) has become a widely utilized tool across many specialties. Although it was traditionally used more by pain specialists due to concerns over prescription drug abuse, diversion, and misuse, it has become something that family physicians and non-pain specialists rely on more than ever..." A Q&A with Joshua Gunn, PhD

Dr. Kneeland, board certified in anesthesiology and pain medicine, discusses his experiences as the medical director and founder of The Montana Center for Wellness & Pain Management.

Cravings in cocaine-dependent men appear to be triggered by drug cues while cravings in cocaine-dependent women appear to be triggered by stress, researchers at the Yale School of Medicine report in a study published online Jan. 31 in The American Journal of Psychiatry.

A substance used in China as a hangover remedy has demonstrated an ability to prevent alcohol from affecting the brains of rats and may lead to the development of a drug to treat alcoholism.

The most successful opioid treatment programs and the most successful patients in those programs use evidence-based dosing of methadone. Many studies over the last 40 years show patients do better on adequate doses of methadone. They have better outcomes when they're on enough methadone to block physical withdrawal signs and symptoms than when they're on insufficient doses.

Can chemical safeguards, built directly into prescription analgesics such as Oxecta, Exalgo, and others, help curb the epidemic of addiction and abuse that killed 14,800 Americans in 2008 alone and subjects the entire pain management community to cumbersome government oversight?