nerve damage
Delivering a potent cancer drug with nanoparticles can lessen side effects
Cambridge, MASS. — Researchers at MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have shown that they can deliver the cancer drug cisplatin much more effectively and safely in a form that has been encapsulated in a nanoparticle targeted to prostate tumor cel…
Good long-term results for fusion surgery for high-grade spondylolisthesis
A group of children who underwent fusion surgery for spondylolisthesis in the lumbar spine 30 years ago showed a clear reduction in back pain when followed up seven years later. A new study of these patients as adults has found that the benefits hav…
Study finds opioids offer significant reduction in nerve-damage pain
Attempting to resolve a long-standing controversy, UCSF researchers have shown that people suffering from chronic pain due to nervous system damage ? known as neuropathic pain — improved significantly after an eight-week course of the morphine-like medication levorphanol. Neuropathic pain affects about three million people in the U.S., and is considered very difficult to treat.
Nerve-Destroying Chemicals are Model for Neurodegenerative Diseases
Tiny motor proteins delivering vital nutrients along the length of nerves are a target for two common chemicals known for their neurotoxicity, says a Medical College of Georgia researcher. Acrylamides – used in water purification, paper manufacturing, mining and recently found in potato chips, French fries, baked cereals and other carbohydrates cooked at high temperatures – and hexanes — an organic solvent used in glues, paints and shoe manufacturing – can shut down these motor proteins, says Dr. Dale W. Sickles, MCG neurotoxicologist.
Blood flow in eyes unaffected by Viagra
When Viagra was introduced in 1999, the drug’s manufacturer warned of a number of visual side effects, including possible nerve damage to the eyes. But a California study rules out some of these risks — even when the drug is taken in high doses. According to Dr. Tim McCulley, assistant professor of ophthalmology at the University of California at Irvine, blood flow in the eye does not seem to be reduced by even high doses of the popular erectile dysfunction drug. Since Viagra lowers blood pressure overall, there was persistent suspicion that the drug might cause decreased optical blood flow, which can cause nerve damage.
Cannabis-based drugs possible next year in U.K.
Cannabis-based drugs could be prescribed in the United Kingdom as early as 2003 following word from a British pharmaceutical company that four Phase III clinical trials showed the drugs successfully treated symptoms associated with multiple sclerosis and neuropathic pain. In the trials, the pot-based medicine achieved statistically significant reductions in neuropathic (nerve-damage) pain, as well as statistically significant improvements in other symptoms of MS, most notably spasticity and sleep disturbance.