What Works Best to Ease the Pain of Sciatica?

WEDNESDAY, March 18, 2020 -- Surgery can cut pain intensity by more than half among patients struggling with long-term sciatica, researchers report.

"Sciatica is the symptom of pain that radiates down the leg and is caused by compression of a nerve root in the spinal canal by a disc herniation," explained study author Dr. Chris Bailey. He's an associate professor of surgery with the Bone and Joint Institute at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada.

When Chronic Pain Leads to Depression in Kids

WEDNESDAY, March 11, 2020 -- Chronic pain can keep kids from being social and active, leading to anxiety and depression, a child psychiatrist says.

Unfortunately, this can turn into a vicious cycle -- worsening depression and anxiety can also worsen pain perception.

Gabapentin, Opioids a Deadly Duo: FDA

THURSDAY, Dec. 19, 2019 -- New warnings about the risk of dangerous breathing difficulties when gabapentinoids are used with opioids or by certain patients must now appear on product labels, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday.

Serious breathing problems that can lead to death can occur in patients who use gabapentinoids with prescription opioid painkillers or other drugs that depress the central nervous system. It can also happen to the elderly or to patients who have underlying respiratory conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to the FDA.

General Anesthesia Boosts Postpartum Depression Risk After C-Section: Study

MONDAY, Feb. 10, 2020 -- Women who receive general anesthesia during a cesarean section delivery are at higher risk of severe postpartum depression that requires hospitalization, as well as self-inflicted harm and suicidal thoughts, a new study finds.

Researchers from Columbia University analyzed more than 428,000 discharge records of women who delivered by C-section in New York state hospitals between 2006 and 2013. Eight percent had general anesthesia.

Family Members Are Swiping Hospice Patients' Painkillers: Study

TUESDAY, Feb. 11, 2020 -- In another sign of just how bad the U.S. opioid abuse epidemic has become, a new study finds family members often steal painkillers from dying relatives in hospice care.

In a survey of 371 hospices, 31% reported at least one case in which drugs were taken from a patient in the past 90 days. The thieves were most often relatives.