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NEWS ABOUT: painkiller

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ET Nails 'Exclusive' Last Photo

Also, details on his last night; tour group is first to see ambulance leave; more

(Newser) - The last picture of Michael Jackson—on a stretcher, being worked on by paramedics— came out last night, courtesy of Entertainment Tonight, which slapped a huge logo on it and called it an exclusive, even though it was instantly all over TV and the web. More coverage of the King... More »

Jackson Died 'After Demerol Injection'

Family lawyer warned that Jackson had 'issues' with prescription drugs

(Newser) - Michael Jackson's heart attack death occurred after an injection of the powerful prescription painkiller Demerol at his home, a source at the UCLA Medical Center tells the Sun. Desperate aides and a personal physician on the scene gave the singer CPR after his collapse, and made a panic-stricken call to... More »

Ex-Wilco Guitarist Died of Accidental OD: Coroner

Painkiller fentanyl cited in Bennett's death

(AP) - Authorities say former Wilco guitarist Jay Bennett died of an overdose of a pain killer, and that they're investigating his death as an accident. Champaign County (Ill.) Coroner Duane Northrup says tests show the 45-year-old musician died after taking fentanyl, a drug found in patches commonly prescribed to treat... More »

Abdul Reveals Painkiller Addiction

American Idol judge turned to meds after dancing injuries

(Newser) - Paula Abdul tells the Ladies' Home Journal she was addicted to heavy-duty painkillers for 12 years until she kicked the habit last November. Abdul insists, however, that she never shot an American Idol episode while under the influence. The 46-year-old turned to prescription meds—which made her act "weird"... More »

Painkillers May Play Role in Prostate Cancer

Doctors unsure if drugs reduce risk—or merely make screening harder

(Newser) - Common pain relievers like aspirin and ibuprofen belong to a class of drugs that lowers protein levels doctors use to test for prostate cancer, the second-most-common cancer found in men. But researchers say it's not clear if the drugs are lowering the risk of developing the cancer or just making... More »

Deaths Soar as Methadone Use Rises

Prescriptions of effective but risky painkiller up 700%

(Newser) - Methadone, formerly used primarily to treat heroin addicts, is now increasingly being prescribed for patients suffering from debilitating pain. Powerful and long-lasting, it's proved effective for millions, but it's also risky, causing more than 4,000 deaths between 1999 and 2005. The New York Times investigates the medical community’s... More »

Court Tosses $32M Verdict Against Vioxx

Says evidence insufficient that it contributed to Texan's death

(Newser) - A Texas appellate court threw out a $32 million verdict against Merck today, citing a lack of evidence that Vioxx contributed to a man’s fatal heart attack. Lionel Garza was taking the painkiller when he died in 2001 at age 71, but was also a smoker with high blood... More »

Cindy McCain's Soft Talk Masks Deep Resolve

GOP candidate's wife is quiet on trail, crusader off it

(Newser) - Cindy McCain is reserved on the campaign trail—a marked contrast to the sometimes-pugilistic style of husband John—but outside the public eye she has been a “one-woman philanthropic operation,” reports the Chicago Tribune in a profile. The would-be first lady has brought medical relief missions to Rwanda... More »

New Aspirin Spares Users Stomachaches

Italian scientists alter key molecule in painkiller

(Newser) - Aspirin is one of the world’s top painkillers, but it has a nasty way of attacking the stomach lining. That could soon be a thing of the past, thanks to a team of Italian researchers who have molecularly altered the drug. The new aspirin “has no side effects,... More »

US, UK Zero in on Illegal Prescription Drug Abuse

'These drugs are coming from inside our homes,' expert warns

(Newser) - American and British officials have launched campaigns to curb the illegal use of prescription drugs. The target of the British effort is doctors who "mis-prescribe" high doses of painkillers and sleeping pills that officials say are proving dangerously addictive, the Guardian reports. Across the Atlantic, Washington is spearheading an... More »

Minorities Denied Potent Painkillers, Study Finds

ER docs prescribe more drugs to whites

(Newser) - Minority patients are less likely than white patients to receive powerful painkillers in hospital emergency rooms, a new study has found. Researchers discovered that 31% of white people in pain were given opioid drugs—narcotic painkillers like morphine and codeine—while Hispanic patients got them 24% of the time and... More »

Merck to Settle Suits for $4.85B

Deal will be official once 85% of plaintiffs agree

(Newser) - Merck has agreed to shell out $4.85 billion to settle 27,000 Vioxx lawsuits brought by plaintiffs who argued that the pain medication damaged health and caused deaths. The agreement, one of the largest in history, must still be approved by 85% of the plaintiffs, but it's likely to... More »

Hot Sauce Could Be the New Morphine

Chemical in chili peppers that burns also numbs—for days

(Newser) - Doctors think they have a hot lead on an alternative to opioid pain killers like morphine: chili peppers. California-based researchers are dripping what is essentially a sterile version of hot sauce—containing capsaicin, the chemical that gives peppers their bite—directly into open wounds during surgery. Just like biting into... More »

Acupuncture Reduces Post-Op Pain: Studies

Patients needed less medication, had fewer side effects

(Newser) - Acupuncture before or during surgery can reduce post-operative pain, researchers have found. Patients who received the nontraditional treatment reported less pain after various surgeries, needed less pain medication and suffered fewer side effects from the medication they took, according to 15 clinical studies reviewed by the team. "The use... More »

Even Fake Acupuncture Best for Back Pain

Chronic sufferers find relief in treatment

(Newser) - Acupuncture has a far better success rate than other treatments for patients with chronic lower back pain,  and fake acupuncture is nearly as effective as the real thing, a new study has found. Normal medical treatment produced significant improvement in 24% of people, while 47% of acupuncture patients felt... More »

Americans Double Use of Pain Meds

Led by Oxycodone, sales of painkillers soared 90% in 8 years

(Newser) - Retail sales of five major painkillers rose a whopping 90% from 1997 to 2005, a new AP analysis of DEA statistics shows. The increase is driven by Oxycodone, the chemical used in OxyContin, which has seen sales increase nearly 600%. Causes include an aging population, huge new drug marketing campaigns,... More »

WWE Wrestles With Drugs, Lifestyle

Untimely deaths, widespread abuse appear to be linked

(Newser) - Chris Benoit's murder-suicide last June spotlighted the disproportionate number of early deaths among professional wrestlers; one activist has counted more than 60 dead before reaching 50 over the past 10 years. And a taxing, drug-addled lifestyle plays a big role. More »

Harsh Reality: Richie Draws 4-Day Sentence

Wrong-way starlet pleads guilty to DUI

(Newser) - Giving the cast of The Simple Life an 0-for-2 record in the California courts, Nicole Richie was sentenced to 4 days in jail today after pleading guilty to driving the wrong way on an LA freeway while under the influence of drugs. The skeletal starlet must attend 21 days of... More »

Kevorkian Set to Leave Prison Friday

'Doctor Death' will retire from mercy killing, won't stop lobbying for legalization

(Newser) - Jack Kevorkian, the champion of mercy killing, will be released from prison June 1 after doing eight years for helping a Michigan man commit suicide. The 79-year-old retired pathologist spent a decade assisting terminally ill patients end their lives, using a homemade machine to administer the fatal drugs and then... More »

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