Long-acting opioids are associated with a significantly increased risk of death when compared with alternative medications for moderate-to-severe chronic pain, according to a Vanderbilt study released today in JAMA.

Not only did long-acting opioids increase the risk of unintentional overdose deaths, but they were also shown to increase mortality from cardiorespiratory events and other causes.

Lead author Wayne Ray, Ph.D., and colleagues with the Vanderbilt Department of Health Policy studied Tennessee Medicaid patients between 1999-2012 with chronic pain, primarily back and other musculoskeletal pain, who did not have cancer or other serious illnesses.

British taxpayers spend billions for the health care of an increasingly overweight population. The World Health Organisation predicts that almost three-quarters of men and two-thirds of women in the UK will be overweight or obese by 2030.

Graham MacGregor is Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Queen Mary, University of London was trained as a nephrologist but then became interested in blood pressure control mechanisms, particularly related to the renin-angiotensin system, the mechanisms whereby salt puts up blood pressure. Now he says he knows a magic bullet for halting obesity: unsurprisingly it is in line with all of the latest fad claims in media.

Nearly 15 percent of opioid-naïve patients hospitalized under Medicare are discharged with a new prescription for opioids, according to a study published today in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Among those patients who received a prescription, 40 percent were still taking opioids 90 days after discharge. The rate of prescription varied almost twofold between hospitals, with some hospitals discharging as many as 20 percent of patients with a prescription for opioids.

Despite growing concern about the public health costs of long-term opioid use, little has been known about how often the painkillers are prescribed. Even appropriate short-term prescriptions can lead to long-term use and, potentially, abuse.

San Diego, Calif. - Malignant neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are relatively rare, notoriously difficult to treat, and associated with poor long-term survival. According to research presented at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI), an investigative blood test could predict how patients will respond to peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) before they commit to a course of treatment.

With generous government subsidies and a 'green' halo, wind power is enjoying a lot of financial windfalls. Meanwhile, since being gutted by the Clinton administration in 1993, nuclear energy has been blocked so that it is increasingly less viable.

For that reason, activists thought Sweden would be a good target for their efforts, because they love to tout their lack of emissions. Yet the Swedes would end up with more emissions if they added wind, according to a new paper. 

Activists believe that sustained high ($110-120 per barrel) prices will lead to  lower carbon emissions because it will make solar and wind seem viable by comparison, but a new study finds that is not true. Why abandon something where the same margin on an expensive product would lead to incredible profit?

Controlling supply leads to people paying thousands of dollars for diamonds, as an example.