How can we improve global access to pain relief?

Press Release from PLoS Medicine

2012-01-11

(Press-News.org) Jason Nickerson and Amir Attaran of the University of Ottawa, Canada examine in this week's PLoS Medicine the vast inequities in medical pain relief around the world, arguing that the imbalance has arisen from restrictive drug laws designed to prevent access to illegal substances, and proposing that the global control of licit narcotics be shifted from the International Narcotic Control Board to WHO.

The authors say: "Transferring the public health responsibility for controlled medicines from INCB to WHO would end the impossibly contradictory situation in which INCB is mandated both to restrict and to promote access to controlled medicines…Attention must now shift to creating better legal frameworks that extricate pain treatment from drug prohibition."

###Funding: JN has received an admission scholarship from the University of Ottawa and an Ontario Graduate Scholarship from the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (https://osap.gov.on.ca/OSAPPortal/en/OSAPStarttoFinish/GraduateStudents/index.htm). AA is supported by a Canada Research Chair from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) (http://www.chairs-chaires.gc.ca/chairholders-titulaires/profile-eng.aspx?profileID=1779) and by funds from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) in Canada. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing Interests: JN is the Associate Editor of the Canadian Journal of Respiratory Therapy, which receives industry sponsorship, and has received an admission scholarship from the University of Ottawa and an Ontario Graduate Scholarship from the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. AA has sat on several WHO expert panels, but none dealing with the subject matter of this paper.

Citation: Nickerson JW, Attaran A (2012) The Inadequate Treatment of Pain: Collateral Damage from the War on Drugs. PLoS Med 9(1): e1001153. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001153

CONTACT:

Jason Nickerson

Institute of Population Health

University of Ottawa

Ottawa, Ontario

Canada

613-562-5800 Jason.Nickerson@uottawa.ca

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Study shows early primate had a transitional lemur-like grooming claw

2012-01-11

GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- Celebrities are channeling a distant relative with what Harper's Bazaar describes as the latest trend in nail fashion for 2012: claws. But this may not be the first time primates traded their nails for claws. A new study co-authored by a University of Florida researcher examines the first extinct North American primate with a toe bone showing features associated with the presence of both nails and a grooming claw, indicating our primate ancestors may have traded their flat nails for raised claws for functional purposes, much like pop icons Adele ...

Marijuana smoke not as damaging to lungs as cigarette smoke

2012-01-11

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Using marijuana carries legal risks, but a new study shows that the consequences of occasionally lighting up do not include long-term loss of lung function, according to a new study by University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers published in the January 11, 2012, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. In 2009, 16.7 million Americans ages 12 and older reported using marijuana at least once in the month ...

How can pediatric HIV be eliminated in Zimbabwe?

2012-01-11

Eliminating new infant HIV infections in Zimbabwe will require not only improved access to antiretroviral medications but also support to help HIV-infected mothers continue taking their medication and safely reduce or eliminate breastfeeding, according to an article in the January issue of PLoS Medicine. Findings of the report from an international research team should help with the planning of expanded programs to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission in sub-Saharan Africa and other areas with limited health resources. "Pediatric HIV infection has been nearly eliminated ...

Before they were stars

2012-01-11

The stars we see today weren't always as serene as they appear, floating alone in the dark of night. Most stars, likely including our sun, grew up in cosmic turmoil — as illustrated in a new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The image shows one of the most active and turbulent regions of star birth in our galaxy, a region called Cygnus X. The choppy cloud of gas and dust lies 4,500 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus the Swan. Cygnus X was named by radio astronomers, since it is one of the brightest radio regions in the Milky Way. (It should not be ...

Scripps Research scientists paint new picture of dance between protein and binding partners

2012-01-11

Jupiter, FL - Using a blend of technologies, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have painted a new picture of how biochemical information can be transmitted through the modification of a protein. Previously, scientists believed that during the pairing of proteins and their binding partners ("ligands"), proteins modified their shape while ligands remained stable. The new study shows this one-size-fits-all solution is not entirely accurate. Instead, the situation resembles a kind of complex but carefully organized dance routine, where the ...

World's most extreme deep-sea vents revealed

2012-01-11

Scientists have revealed details of the world's most extreme deep-sea volcanic vents, 5 kilometres down in a rift in the Caribbean seafloor. The undersea hot springs, which lie 0.8 kilometres deeper than any seen before, may be hotter than 450 °C and are shooting a jet of mineral-laden water more than a kilometre into the ocean above. Despite these extreme conditions, the vents are teeming with thousands of a new species of shrimp that has a light-sensing organ on its back. And having found yet more 'black smoker' vents on an undersea mountain nearby, the researchers ...

Marijuana use not associated with adverse effects on lung function

2012-01-11

CHICAGO – In a study in which participants had repeated measurements of lung function over 20 years, occasional and low cumulative marijuana use was not associated with adverse effects on pulmonary function, according to a study in the January 11 issue of JAMA. Exposure to tobacco smoke causes lung damage with clinical consequences that include respiratory symptoms, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer. "Marijuana smoke contains many of the same constituents as tobacco smoke, but it is unclear whether smoking marijuana causes pulmonary damage similar ...

Study examines accuracy of prognostic tools used to predict mortality among older adults

2012-01-11

CHICAGO – A review of 16 prognostic indices used to predict risk of death in older adults in a variety of clinical settings, such as in nursing homes and hospitals, found that there is insufficient evidence to recommend the widespread use of these indices in clinical practice, according to a study in the January 11 issue of JAMA. "Failure to consider prognosis in the context of clinical decision making can lead to poor care. Hospice is underutilized for patients with nonmalignant yet life-threatening diseases. Healthy older patients with good prognosis have low rates ...

Persons with dementia have higher rate of hospitalizations

2012-01-11

CHICAGO – Compared to individuals without dementia, persons who developed dementia subsequently had a significantly higher rate of hospital admissions for all causes and admissions for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions for which proactive care may have prevented hospitalizations, according to a study in the January 11 issue of JAMA. "Nonelective hospitalization of older people, particularly those with dementia, is not a trivial event. Among older persons without dementia, hospitalization for serious illness is associated with subsequent cognitive decline, and frail ...

Study evaluates blood potassium levels after heart attack and risk of in-hospital mortality

2012-01-11

CHICAGO – Patients hospitalized after a heart attack who had blood potassium levels of between 3.5 and less than 4.5 mEq/L (milliEquivalents per liter) had a lower risk of death than patients with potassium levels that were higher or lower than this range, according to a study in the January 11 issue of JAMA. Clinical practice guidelines recommend maintaining serum potassium levels between 4.0 and 5.0 mEq/L in patients after a heart attack. "Potassium homeostasis [equilibrium] is critical to prevent adverse events in patients with cardiovascular disease. Several studies ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

New study unveils key strategies against drug-resistant prostate cancer

Northwestern Medicine, West Health, Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute collaboration to provide easier access to mental health care

Is therapeutic hypothermia an effective treatment for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, a type of neurological dysfunction in newborns?

New AEM study highlights feasibility of cranial accelerometry device for prehospital detection of large-vessel occlusion stroke

Global experts make sense of the science shaping public policies worldwide in new International Science Council and Frontiers Policy Labs series

The Wistar Institute and Cameroon researchers reveals HIV latency reversing properties in African plant

$4.5 million Dept. of Education grant to expand mental health services through Binghamton University Community Schools

[Press-News.org] How can we improve global access to pain relief?
Press Release from PLoS Medicine