Juvenile Arthritis
Mushrooms: another natural source of vitamin D
Eating mushrooms that have been exposed to the sun can increase levels of vitamin D in the blood as effectively as taking supplements of vitamin D2 or D3, says a recent study from Boston University School of Medicine.
Thirty healthy adults were split into three groups for 12 weeks during the winter months (when the volunteers would have been getting limited exposure to vitamin D from sunlight). One group received 2,000 units of vitamin D3, another was given 2,000 units of vitamin D2 and the third group received 2,000 units of powder from mushrooms containing vitamin D2. Continue reading
Ketamine in operations may lower use of opioids afterwards
People with fibromyalgia undergoing knee or hip replacement surgery who are given ketamine during the operation then have less need for opioid pain relief after the operation.
(Ketamine is an anaesthetic drug given in operations since 1963.)
“Fibromyalgia is a complicated disease process which despite modern treatment often leaves these patients in significant pain,” Dr Jonathan Day said. “The subsequent high use of opioids further complicates their care. Low-dose ketamine, with its proven opioid sparing effects, may provide a novel avenue of treatment for patients with fibromyalgia.”
The study was small and has not yet been published in a journal but the results are in-line with anecdotal evidence. More in-depth research is needed.
Fragility fractures cost the EU €37bn a year
About 3.5 million fragility fractures occur due to osteoporosis each year in the EU, according to data from the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industry Associations.
The report details that osteoporosis in all 27 EU member states caused fractures that cost €37 billion (£32 billion) in 2010 alone. Two-thirds was spent on caring for fractures; 29% went on long-term fracture care; and 5% on preventive drug therapies.
The burden is likely to grow due to an ageing population and some experts predict a 25% increase in health-related economic costs by 2025. Continue reading
Opioids are no better than other medication in fibromyalgia
People with fibromyalgia could be no better taking opioid-based therapies than other drugs, says new research published in Pain Research and Treatment.
A total of 131 people (92% women) with fibromyalgia who were an average age of 50 years were tracked by Canadian scientists for two years.
Those who took opioids often had more severe symptoms at the start of the study and continued to have worse symptoms and poorer functional status than those who took other medication. Continue reading
Tissue damage could be behind pain in hip implants
Dr Mark Figgie and Dr Timothy Wright discuss a hip implant model
The cause of unexplained pain in people who have had metal-on-metal hip implants is more likely to be tissue damage than the wear of the implant. A team from the Hospital for Special Surgery in the US wanted to find the causes of unexplained pain in people who had metal-on-metal hip implants who had come to their hospital for revision surgery.
They compared 50 people who needed surgery because of unexplained pain to a control group of 48 people who needed surgery because of loosening, malalignment, infection or fracture.
Results showed that 60% of the unexplained pain group had moderate to high adverse tissue reactions and 12% had some build-up of metal deposits in their soft tissue. Ten times as many people in the unexplained pain group had high-grade tissue damage scores compared to the control group. Continue reading
