The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has approved the spinal cord stimulation (SCS) system to aid in the management of chronic intractable pain of the trunk and/or limbs, including pain associated with failed back surgery syndrome, low back pain, and leg pain.The new system is able to reduce pain without paraesthesia, or tingling sensation, by providing high-frequency stimulation at 10 kHz, with low-stimulation amplitudes. Back pain is a common disability. Acute pain begins suddenly and is usually sharp in quality. Acute pain might be mild and last just a moment, or it might be severe and may last 3to 6months. In most cases, acute pain disappears when the underlying cause of pain has been treated or has healed. Unrelieved acute pain, however, might lead to chronic pain. Chronic pain is pain that lasts more than 12 weeks and may persist for years. Chronic pain might have originated with an initial trauma/injury or infection, or there might be an ongoing cause of pain. However, some people suffer chronic pain in the absence of any past injury or evidence of body damage. The FDA's review of safety and effectiveness included data from a clinical study. During the study, 198 subjects with chronic intractable pain of the trunk and/or limbs were randomized to either the spinal cord stimulation system test group or a control group. The control group was made up of 97 subjects treated with another FDA-approved device that delivers stimulation in the 2 to 1,200 Hz frequency range. In 75% of subjects treated with the spinal cord stimulation system, a 50% reduction in pain from baseline was achieved at...
Adults with persistently high depressive symptoms are associated with increased stroke risk, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.A few studies in the past have demonstrated a positive association of depressive symptoms and stroke incidence, but the data on persistence of stroke risk after remittance of depression is limited. Researcher's analysed data from 16,178 stroke-free participant's aged ≥50 years, who had been interviewed as part of the Health and Retirement Study about depressive symptoms, history of stroke, and stroke risk factors every two years from 1998 to 2010. Over 12 years, nearly 1,192 participants had a stroke. Researchers found that people with high depressive symptoms at two consecutive interviews were more than twice as likely to have a first stroke as people without depression at either interview. Stroke risk remained elevated even among participants with remitted depressive symptoms, particularly for women. Those with depressive symptoms that began between interviews did not show signs of elevated stroke risk. Researchers also noted that people <65 years of age who had depressive symptoms had a greater risk of stroke compared to those >65 years of age with depression. The researchers suggest that depression may influence stroke risk and the risk remained elevated even if depressive symptoms remitted over a two‐year period, suggesting cumulative aetiologic mechanisms linking depression and stroke. J Am Heart Assoc. 2015; 4: e001923; doi:10.1161/JAHA.115.001923 Posted on: 18 May, 2015 Subscribe below and download our weekly newsletter. Name Email Address...
