Content about Nervous system

STERLING, Ill. — The vast majority of mothers experience pain throughout their bodies, according to a new survey.

The survey, commissioned by electric massager maker Wahl Clipper Corp. and conducted by Harris Interactive, found that 84% of mothers experience pain. This includes 80% who experience lower back pain, 76% with shoulder and neck pain, 70% with upper back pain and 65% with joint pain. The survey included 2,000 men and women, including 300 mothers with children younger than 18, who were asked about their pain and how they cope with it.

Over-the-counter medications continue to gain in popularity among consumers, who — whether as a matter of cost savings or convenience — are increasingly turning to OTCs to treat their conditions, including both acute, episodic conditions like the common cold and such chronic conditions as frequent pain and allergy. 


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MORRISTOWN, N.J. — To encourage consumers to rethink aspirin for pain relief — according to a recent Bayer survey, only 8% of respondents reported taking aspirin more often that other OTC pain relievers — Bayer on Tuesday issued the Fast Relief Challenge and is giving away 100,000 bottles of Bayer Advanced Aspirin so consumers can put the pain reliever to the test.

NEW YORK — The National Advertising Review Board on Tuesday recommended that Novartis Consumer Health discontinue advertising claims that the company’s Excedrin Extra Strength product starts relieving headache pain faster than Advil.

The claims at issue were initially challenged before the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus by Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, makers of Advil.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Sam's Club announced that it will donate $1 million to support child hunger programs through Feeding America as part of its Holiday Taste of Sam's Club event, which will be held from Nov. 18 to 20.

MENLO PARK, Calif. — Depomed has launched a new drug for treating shingles, the drug maker said Monday.

The company announced the launch of Gralise (gabapentin) tablets, a once-daily treatment for postherpetic neuralgia, the pain that follows healing of the rash associated with shingles.

Gralise is a proprietary formulation of gabapentin that uses patented polymer technology that enables gradual release of the drug. Depomed said it is not interchangeable with other branded or generic gabapentin-based drugs.

SCHOFIELD, Wis. — PuraMed BioScience on Monday announced that headache researcher Roger Cady will be exhibiting a poster presentation of his independent clinical study of PuraMed's nonprescription migraine medication LipiGesic-M at the 2011 Headache Update Conference being held in Orlando, Fla., July 14 to 17.

CINCINNATI — Kroger has kicked off a two-week campaign that is expected to generate $5 million dollars in cash and food donations to assist 80 local food banks in communities where Kroger's customers and associates live and work.

Kroger said that its annual Bringing Hope to the Table campaign, which runs through June 11, will assist food banks that are members of Feeding America, the nation's largest hunger-relief organization. Since 2006, Kroger's family of stores has generated contributions of $25 million in food and funds through the campaign.

BEDMINSTER, N.J. — A drug used to treat pain in cancer patients now is available in the United States.

ProStrakan Group announced Monday the launch of Abstral (fentanyl) sublingual tablets. The tablets, which disintegrate rapidly and are placed under the tongue, treat breakthrough pain, common in one-half to two-thirds of people with cancer-related pain.

The drug, an opioid and controlled substance, only is available through a Food and Drug Administration-mandated REMS program. The FDA approved the drug in January.

The spring 2011 Pain Relief Ingredient Guide breaks down the indication, active ingredients, purpose and dosage of such OTC internal and external analgesics as Aleve, Excedrin, Bayer, Tylenol, Advil, ThermiPaq, Arnicare, Max-Freeze and Stopain.

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Welmedix’s First Degree therapeutic burn cream provides a unique solution for minor burns that the company suggests is an unmet need at retail. It’s an all-in-one burn cream that helps soothe pain, cool the burn, prevent infection and reduce the appearance of scars.


SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug for treating pain in cancer patients, the agency said Friday.

The FDA announced the approval of ProStrakan’s Abstral (fentanyl) transmucosal tablets for the management of pain that appears suddenly for short periods and is not alleviated by a patient’s normal pain-management plan, also known as breakthrough pain. The tablets are designed for administration on the soft surfaces of the mouth, including inside the cheek, gums and tongue, as well as the nasal passages or the throat.