Trial Finds New Expensive Back Procedure Ineffective
A world-first study involving Monash University and the Cabrini Research Institute in Melbourne has revealed the injection of bone cement into broken vertebrae is not an effective treatment for patients suffering painful osteoporotic fractures. The treatment, known as percutaneous vertebroplasty, is regularly recommended by doctors and specialists around the world. About 600 patients across Australia undergo the procedure every year. The study results were published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). Director of the Monash Department of Clinical Epidemiology at Cabrini Hospital, part of the Monash University School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Professor Rachelle Buchbinder said the trial results clearly show that vertebroplasty does not work and therefore potential risks outweigh any potential benefits.
Practice Guidelines For Nutrition Care For Patients With Spinal Cord Injury Published By ADA
The American Dietetic Association has published new evidence-based nutrition practice guidelines for registered dietitians on nutrition care for patients with spinal cord injury. The guidelines contain systematically developed recommendations to assist practitioners in appropriate nutrition care, with specific recommendations on: Energy needs in the acute phase Nutrition assessment for prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity Nutrition assessment of lipid abnormalities Cranberry extract supplements Nutrition intervention to prevent development of pressure ulcers. ADA members, including an expert workgroup and trained analysts, extensively examined the research to develop a series of recommendations and treatment algorithms which accurately summarize this body of evidence.
Incontinence, Breathing Problems And Gastrointestinal Disorders Predict Back Pain In Women
Women with incontinence, respiratory disorders and gastrointestinal problems have increased risk for development of back pain, according to research reported in The Journal of Pain, the peer review publication of the American Pain Society. Australian pain researchers reviewed case histories of some 7500 young, mid-age and older women who participated in the Australian Longitudinal Study of Women's Health who reported no back pain during the preceding 12 months. They were followed for up to four years. The study was intended to show that identifying some conditions that may predispose women to back pain later in life is one way to assist in prevention and help control the cost of a widespread and expensive health problem.
Comparative Effectiveness: Back Surgery Remains Popular Despite Poor Study Results
Studies have recently found that vertebroplasty - a type of back surgery in which cement is injected into the spine - isn't effective, but many patients and their doctors insist it works. The surgery "is under scrutiny after two recent studies in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded the popular treatment to ease pain from back fractures, typically caused by osteoporosis, is no more effective than a sham surgery, " The Boston Globe reports. "Coming more than a decade after vertebroplasty was introduced in this country, the studies are the first to compare the treatment's effectiveness to a placebo surgery, the gold standard for medical research.
Collagen-deficient Mice Show Signs Of Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis (OA) and degenerative disc disease (DDD) are common, chronic musculoskeletal disorders. Both diseases cause joint pain, loss of function, and decreased quality of life for the more than 27 million OA and 59 million DDD suffers in the US. According to a 2003 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, arthritis such as OA costs the U.S. economy nearly $128 billion per year in medical care and indirect expenses including lost wages and productivity. Researchers at Duke University Medical Center, under a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), conducted a study of mice to determine the effect of Type IX collagen (Col9a1) deficiency on functional ability.
Yoga Benefits Back-pain Patients
People with chronic low-back problems who do yoga also do better at overcoming pain and depression than people treated conventionally for back pain, a West Virginia University study funded by the National Institutes of Health shows. The three-year, $400, 000 study, published in the September issue of the journal Spine, showed lifted mood, less pain and improved function in the group that did yoga postures compared with a control group who received standard medical therapy. "The yoga group had less pain, less functional disability and less depression compared with the control group, " said Kimberly Williams, Ph.D., research assistant professor in the Department of Community Medicine.
Yoga Relieves Chronic Lower Back Pain, Study Suggests
US researchers studying people with chronic lower back problems found that those who did Iyengar Yoga were better at overcoming pain and depression than those who followed conventional treatments for lower back pain. The study, which was funded by the US National Institutes of Health to the tune of 400, 000 dollars, was the work of Dr Kimberly Williams, research assistant professor in the Department of Community Medicine at West Virginia University in Morgantown, and colleagues, and can be read online in the 1 September issue of the journal Spine. Low-back pain is the largest category for medical reimbursements in the US, accounting for 34 billion dollars of medical costs every year, said the researchers.
Mesoblast Limited ASX:MSB Proprietary Stem Cells Successfully Repair Regenerate Damaged Intervertebral Disc Cartilage
Australia's regenerative medicine company, Mesoblast Limited (ASX:MSB)(PINK:MBLTY), today announced highly successful preclinical trial results of its adult stem cells in the treatment of degenerative intervertebral disc disease, the leading cause of low back pain. A single low-dose injection of Mesoblast's allogeneic or "off-the-shelf' adult stem cells into severely damaged intervertebral discs resulted in dramatic reversal of the degenerative process, regrowth of disc cartilage, and sustained normalization of disc pathology, anatomy and function. The results of a placebo-controlled, randomised trial of Mesoblast's cells for the treatment of degenerative disc disease in 36 sheep is being presented and highlighted at the World Congress on Osteoarthritis, OsteoArthritis Research Society International (OARSI), being held in Montreal, Canada from 10-12 September.
New Data Show Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain Maintained Pain Reduction On Cymbalta R
New data show patients with chronic low back pain on Cymbalta(R) (duloxetine HCl) maintained reductions in pain for 41 weeks.(1) In patients who initially responded to duloxetine, this maintenance of pain reduction was accompanied by further reduction in pain that was statistically significant as measured by the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) average pain rating.(1) The data will be presented today at the sixth triennial congress of the European Federation of Chapters of the International Association for the Study of Pain (EFIC(R)). A total of 181 patients enrolled in the open-label 41-week extension phase of the study, designed to evaluate long-term maintenance of effect in patients with chronic low back pain taking duloxetine 60 mg or 120 mg once daily.
New Data Show Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain Maintained Pain Reduction On Duloxetine
New data show patients with chronic low back pain on duloxetine hydrochloride ( Cymbalta ® ) maintained reductions in pain for 41 weeks.[i] In patients who initially responded to duloxetine, this maintenance of pain reduction was accompanied by further reduction in pain that was statistically significant as measured by the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) average pain rating.1 The data will be presented today at the sixth triennial congress of the European Federation of International Association for the Study of Pain Chapters (EFIC® ). A total of 181 patients enrolled in the open-label 41-week extension phase of the study, designed to evaluate long-term maintenance of effect in patients with chronic low back pain taking duloxetine 60 mg or 120 mg once daily.