Current medical research and opinion
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Chronic pain is currently under-diagnosed and under-treated, partly because doctors' training in pain management is often inadequate. This situation looks certain to become worse with the rapidly increasing elderly population unless there is a wider adoption of best pain management practice. This paper reviews current knowledge of the development of chronic pain and the multidisciplinary team approach to pain therapy. ⋯ The patient also receives continuity of care, while pain relief is accompanied by improvements in physical functioning, quality of life and emotional stress. Other benefits include decreases in catastrophizing, self-reported patient disability, and depression. Improved training in pain management is clearly needed, starting with the undergraduate medical curriculum, and this review is intended to encourage further study by those who manage patients with chronic pain.
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Comparison of postoperative nausea between benign and malignant brain tumor patients undergoing awake craniotomy: a retrospective analysis.
Benign and malignant brain tumors have different histopathological characteristics, including different degrees of tissue infiltration and inflammatory response. The aim of this retrospective study was to compare the incidence of postoperative nausea between the two categories of brain tumors in patients undergoing awake craniotomy. ⋯ The different histopathological characteristics of brain tumors have no association with postoperative nausea in patients undergoing awake craniotomy. Patients with benign brain tumors experience more pain than patients with malignant brain tumors. This difference in postoperative pain may be due to the younger age of the patients in the benign group.
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Review
Hypertension and vascular dementia in the elderly: the potential role of anti-hypertensive agents.
Vascular dementia (VaD) - a severe form of vascular cognitive impairment - and cognitive decline are associated with hypertension and therefore it seems logical to consider that reducing BP with anti-hypertensive therapy may protect against the development/onset of cognitive function impairment or dementia. ⋯ The protective effect of anti-hypertensive agents appears to depend on the specific drug used - positive effects have been observed with calcium channel blockers (CCBs), such as lercanidipine and nitrendipine, the combination perindopril-indapamide and telmisartan.