Pain

The findings of a new Stanford-led study suggest that illicit drugs are beginning to replace prescription opioids as the source of the national drug epidemic.

With the help of an advocacy program and integrated complex care team at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, Hari Suresh navigated an obstacle-strewn path to scholastic success.

The Stanford pain psychologist will evaluate the effectiveness of behavioral training to help people with chronic pain reduce their use of opioids.

Stanford researchers said they have identified the receptors to which opioids bind to produce tolerance to the drugs and increased sensitivity to pain. They also found that a commercially available drug limited those side effects in mice.

A Stanford Medicine psychologist is helping patients reduce pain without opioids and prescription drugs. She offers practical steps for people to harness the power of their mind-body connection to reduce symptoms of pain and increase their quality of life.

Morphine and similar drugs are the world’s most widely used painkillers. But they’re also dangerous and addictive. A new compound may be able to safely provide the same analgesia as morphine.

A new study reinforces the need for surgeons and physicians to monitor patients' use of painkillers following surgery and use alternative methods of pain control whenever possible.

Sean Mackey and his colleagues created a computer-based system that uses streams of data from many patients to help physicians provide the best care for individuals.

Researchers find that prescribing of opioids — such as morphine, oxycodone and hydrocodone — is widespread for the Medicare population.