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April 11, 2013 Researchers say they can measure how much pain someone is experiencing and even watch as prescription painkillers relieve it. The scanning technique could help doctors treat pain better, but the work is also fraught with questions about how the technology could interfere with the relationship between doctors and patients.

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January 25, 2013 Painkillers containing the drug hydrocodone have provided relief to many in pain. But a panel recommended the federal government place restrictions on access to the drugs to lessen the odds of addiction.

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January 24, 2013 KHNPatients with the blood disorder can experience severe pain. But when they arrive at the emergency room seeking help, health care personnel often think their requests for narcotics are a sign of addiction. Nursing professor Paula Tanabe is helping to illuminate the problem and improve treatment.

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January 23, 2013 Prescription drugs like Vicodin have provided much-needed relief for many people suffering from pain. But these painkillers can be addictive, and they kill thousands each year. Doctors and regulators are looking into how to limit access to the drugs without causing more suffering for pain patients.

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January 18, 2013 The fact is: we find it easy to attribute mind to what looks and acts like a human being and we find it almost impossible to attribute mind to what does not.

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January 17, 2013 Prawns will rub themselves when dabbed with acid. And hermit crabs show stress-related behavior after getting shocked out of their shells. Now scientists find that British shore crabs can learn to avoid an electric shock — a key sign that crustaceans really do experience pain.

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December 12, 2012 A roundup of the medical evidence by a group of independent researchers suggest that giving babies sugar water before injections can help comfort them. But the latest analysis is less enthusiastic about the approach than a previous review.

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April 23, 2012 Nobody wants to hear a baby cry. Researchers say the same techniques that soothe a colicky infant can help relieve the pain of vaccinations.

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April 10, 2012 KQED Dozens of states electronically track the prescriptions for powerful narcotics like Vicodin and OxyContin to root out pill-shopping patients and unscrupulous doctors. But in California, a relentless budget crisis is threatening that system and causing deep concern among doctors and law enforcement.

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January 23, 2012 Women don't suffer in silence. They report feeling more pain than men from such common conditions as ankle sprains and sinus infections, a Stanford study finds. A better understanding of gender differences in pain could lead to better treatments.

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January 9, 2012 Swiss researchers found that newborns who got sugar and a firm embrace suffered the least pain, compared to babies who got just sugar or who were just held during medical procedures.

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September 26, 2011 A recent study confirms what many pain specialists and patients already know: Pain relief differs from person to person. In fact, some medications that were highly effective for some individuals were barely noticeable for others.

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September 16, 2011 An editorial published in the Archives of Internal Medicine says there's a troubling shortfall in the evidence to support the use of narcotics like Oxycontin for long-term treatment of pain. And, there's ample evidence of harm.

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