Category: Medications

Gene therapies for chronic pain?

Gene therapy is starting to come into its own, and it will change medicine more profoundly than anything that came before. Just like when antibiotics were discovered almost exactly a century ago, we are on the cusp of another revolution in medicine. On…

Ben Franklin’s timeless wisdom: a key to solving America’s opioid crisis

In 1736, Ben Franklin famously advised Philadelphians that preventing fires is better than fighting them. Mr. Franklin’s advice is just as applicable today in addressing America’s opioid crisis. Billions of opioid settlement dollars are bei…

Novel medications and genetic tests: a perfect storm for physician liability

The German pharmaceutical company Grunenthal has announced the start of a human addiction potential (HAP) trial of a first-in-class analgesic called cebranopadol, described as “less addictive” than previous medications. We’ve been dow…

A manifesto for the next revolution in nocebo and placebo studies

An excerpt from The Power of Placebos: How the Science of Placebos and Nocebos Can Improve Health Care by Jeremy Howick. Copyright 2023. Published with permission of Johns Hopkins University Press. “When he had asked me if I knew the cure for hea…

Cannabis compounds and fracture healing [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join L. Joseph Parker, a research physician, as we explore a recent study published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. Discover how two compounds found in cannabis, cannabidiol (C…

Drug prices and fast approvals can harm patients

An excerpt from Big Food, Big Pharma, Big Lies. Few fail to be shocked at the rising prices of some prescription drugs. “Drug companies have raised prices relentlessly for decades while manipulating the patent system and other laws to delay compe…

Pain medicine realities: beyond the opioid crisis

In 1990, Ronald Melzack published a paper in Scientific American titled “The Tragedy of Needless Pain.” Many would regard Melzack as the “father” of pain science and the treatment of pain. In that paper, he described the science…

The erosion of compassion in medicine

With my first thrust on his chest, I shattered his sternum, feeling his bones crumble in my hands. His eyes were wide open but lifeless. Dried secretions crusted his lips. His dusky skin tone indicated my efforts would be futile. Nonetheless, I proceed…

A doctor’s thoughts on The Retrievals podcast

I recently listened to the podcast mini-series The Retrievals. It was fascinating and absolutely worth a listen. It’s the story of a Yale infertility clinic where a nurse was stealing fentanyl and replacing it with normal saline. As a result, wom…

Exploring psychedelic therapies [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join Thaís Salles Araujo, an internal medicine resident. Discover the potential benefits, challenges, and the need for greater awareness and education in integrating these therapies into mo…