painkiller

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Court Overturns $465M Opioid Ruling Against Johnson & Johnson

It's the second blow to a case like this in the past month

(Newser) - The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned a $465 million opioid ruling against drugmaker Johnson & Johnson, finding that a lower court wrongly interpreted the state's public nuisance law in the first case of its kind in the US to go to trial. The ruling was the second blow...

Jamie Lee Curtis: I 'Freebased' With Dad Tony Curtis

Actress, 20 years sober, opens up for Variety's 'recovery issue'

(Newser) - Jamie Lee Curtis has been open about her struggle with addiction and her recovery journey; she's been sober 20 years. She gets even more open in a new interview with Variety for its "recovery issue," revealing that dad Tony Curtis, whose addiction struggles were also well-known, "...

Cops: Doctor Prescribed Too Much Fentanyl, Killed 25

William Husel has been charged in the 25 deaths

(Newser) - Authorities say an Ohio doctor is responsible for the deaths of 25 patients for whom he prescribed excessive doses of the opioid painkiller fentanyl. William Husel has been charged in all those deaths following a six-month investigation, reports NBC News , which calls the deaths "a stunning case of medical...

Cost of This Drug in 2013: $138. Cost Now: $2,979

Horizon Pharma's Vimovo just saw latest price hike, but maker says most will pay less than $10

(Newser) - A painkiller that cost $138 a bottle less than five years ago now hovers at close to $3,000—the latest price hike to put the pharmaceutical industry in the spotlight. CNNMoney reports Horizon Pharma's latest increase on Vimovo, which has seen nearly a dozen such rate rises since...

Major Insurer Takes Big Step on OxyContin

Cigna will stop covering most prescriptions

(Newser) - A big change for a huge insurance company: Starting Jan. 1, Cigna will stop covering most OxyContin prescriptions in its group plans. OxyContin, an opioid painkiller, is an extended-release version of oxycodone; extended-release versions contain a higher dose of the active ingredients, which can make them ripe for abuse as...

For Your Heart's Sake, Go Easy on the Ibuprofen
For Your Heart's Sake,
Go Easy on the Ibuprofen
new study
May 10, 2017 10:51 AM CDT

For Your Heart's Sake, Go Easy on the Ibuprofen

Researchers see increased risk with high doses of NSAID painkillers

(Newser) - A new study adds to evidence that high doses of common painkillers such as ibuprofen increase the risk of heart attack. Researchers report in the British Medical Journal that patients prescribed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were at greater risk for heart trouble in the first 30 days, reports the BBC . The...

Report: NFL Teams Broke Federal Law on Painkillers

'Don’t worry, I’m pretty good at keeping them off the trail!'

(Newser) - The Washington Post is out with a damning report on the use of prescription painkillers in the NFL, asserting that teams have for years broken federal laws regarding how the drugs are dispensed and tracked. The story by Rick Maese, based on sealed court documents from a lawsuit by former...

The VA Pumped Vets With Opioids. Now There's a Bigger Problem

How ex-service members got hooked on painkillers, and how the VA is letting them down: 'WSJ'

(Newser) - Veterans who return from service not only have to deal with everyday re-entry issues (finding jobs, reacclimating to life with family and friends), but also with the injuries and PTSD they may have brought home with them. To cope with the physical and mental pain, many of them are prescribed...

Scientists May Have Discovered Addiction-less Painkiller

PZM21 could potentially replace morphine and other opioids

(Newser) - The Los Angeles Times reports scientists are "tantalizingly close" to the perfect painkilling drug. Researchers announced the discovery of PZM21 in a study published Wednesday in Nature . In testing on mice, the chemical compound relieved nearly as much pain as morphine—87% to 92%—and lasted longer. At the...

Ex-Addict: I Got Prescription Opioids Way Too Easily

Doctors knew history, kept pills coming

(Newser) - Seth Mnookin is recovering from a three-year addiction to heroin, which he kicked in 1997. So when he went to Massachusetts General Hospital to be treated for kidney stones that left him in severe pain, he made sure to tell every medical professional he encountered about his history with addiction....

Jamie Lee Curtis: I, Too, Was Addicted to Painkillers

She shares her story in response to Prince's death

(Newser) - It's time to do something about painkiller addiction, writes Jamie Lee Curtis in the Huffington Post , where she reveals that she was once addicted, like Prince reportedly was. "I too, waited anxiously for a prescription to be filled for the opiate I was secretly addicted to. I too,...

How Prince Could Have Kept Such a Secret

The 'New York Times' delves into his private addiction

(Newser) - Prince's final days are coming into sharper focus, and it now appears the singer had developed an addiction to pain pills so serious that he was set to meet with an addiction specialist when he died. The New York Times delves into the question of how Prince—who had...

Super-Strong Painkiller Kills 7 in Northern California

More than 20 are hospitalized over fentanyl

(Newser) - Seven people have died—and nearly two dozen others have been hospitalized—in California's Sacramento County after overdosing on fentanyl, reports CBS Sacramento . Fentanyl is a painkiller much stronger than morphine and can produce a euphoric high, reports the Los Angeles Times . According to the Sacramento Bee , it's...

CDC to Doctors: Cool It With the Painkiller Prescriptions

New recommendations aim to curb opioid abuse

(Newser) - Prescription painkillers should not be a first-choice for treating common ailments like back pain and arthritis, according to new federal guidelines designed to reshape how doctors prescribe drugs like OxyContin and Vicodin. Amid an epidemic of addiction and abuse tied to these powerful opioids drugs, the Centers for Disease Control...

Overdose Drug Helps Woman Feel Pain for First Time

And that could actually be great news for people with chronic pain

(Newser) - A woman who was born without the ability to feel pain was hurt for the first time in 39 years when researchers burned her with a laser, New Scientist reports. "I think she quite enjoyed the experiment," researcher John Wood says. But that's not just good news...

Medical Marijuana May Cut Painkiller ODs

States with new laws see drop in opioid deaths

(Newser) - The solution to America's addiction to painkillers may be … more drugs? A new study found a drop in painkiller overdose deaths in 13 states that allowed medical marijuana, CNN reports. That's because a patient prescribed marijuana will either stop taking opioids or take less of them, researchers...

Number of Seniors on Pain Pills Surges, Alarmingly

'USA Today' analysis reveals jump over 5 years

(Newser) - More seniors are getting powerful pain meds for longer periods through Medicare, USA Today reports—and the increases are drastic. One in five seniors now gets prescribed pain drugs like Vicodin and Percocet. The number getting opioid pain medication prescriptions jumped 30% between 2007 and 2012, passing 8.5 million...

Ex-Players Sue: NFL Fed Us Illegal Painkillers

They allege greedy league doped them up, didn't tell them of broken bones

(Newser) - A group of retired NFL players, including three from the 1985 Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears, filed a lawsuit today alleging that the profit-thirsty league illegally fed them risky narcotics and other painkillers that numbed their injuries with no regard for health complications down the road. Players say they were...

Single Pill Would Combine Morphine ... and Oxycodone
Single Pill Would Mix Morphine ... and Oxycodone
in case you missed it
Apr 26, 2014 8:33 AM CDT

Single Pill Would Mix Morphine ... and Oxycodone

Its maker will tout Moxduo's benefits to the FDA today, in face of fears

(Newser) - On the one hand are the benefits: A single pill that would allow patients to ingest smaller doses of two drugs than they'd consume if they took the drugs separately, one with a lowered risk of respiratory complications, and one that eases intense pain rapidly. What's not to...

Newly Created Drug Has 100 Times Morphine's Power

It's still in experimental stage, and makes use of snail venom

(Newser) - Move over, morphine. Someday, we may be turning to carnivorous snails for our pain-killing needs, a study suggests. Australian researchers have found that a drug made using venom from ocean-dwelling cone snails may be 100 times as powerful as top painkillers morphine and gabapentin, which are currently used to ease...

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