Articles: pain.
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Zomepirac sodium (Zomax) is a new orally effective nonopioid analgesic that can relieve mild to severe pain. It is more effective than aspirin or codeine alone and is as effective as analgesic combinations containing codeine or other narcotics. ⋯ Like aspirin, zomepirac has anti-inflammatory and antipyretic actions and inhibits the synthesis of prostaglandins. Zomepirac is generally well tolerated with both short-term and long-term use; gastrointestinal reactions are the most frequently occurring side effects.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Administration of levodopa for relief of herpes zoster pain.
Forty-seven outpatients with herpes zoster, seen within five days of onset of the eruption, received ten days' administration of oral levodopa and benserazide or placebo in a double-blind controlled study. Both the total patient group and high-risk group, eg, those with either ophthalmic zoster or those older than 65 years, were analyzed. ⋯ A significant decrease in intensity of pain was seen in the group receiving levodopa from the third day, and complete cessation of both pain and sleep disturbances was more frequent in the patients. Two months later, postherpetic neuralgia was also less frequent in the group that received levodopa.
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More than two-thirds of an unselected sample of 34 college students reported mild headaches when told that a (nonexistent) electric current was passing through their heads. These reports appeared independent of whether the instructions emphasized the headache-producing effect of the current or whether the emphasis was on a perceptual task, with headache as only a possible side effect. The results are consistent with a view of pain as localized stress. They provide additional grounds for the suspicion that clinical focusing on pain may itself be a cause of pain.
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Somatosensory evoked potentials (EPs) to stimuli ranging from barely perceptible to painful were recorded in 153 normal adults. Reliability of amplitude and amplitude/intensity slopes were demonstrated in 29 individuals tested twice, two or more weeks apart. In randomized, double-blind placebo controlled trials, both aspirin and morphine significantly diminished N120 component at high stimulus intensities. Age, sex and pharmacological effects paralleled those found with psychophysical techniques in part I of this study.
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Zomepirac sodium vs APC with codeine for oral surgery pain.
In this double-blind, repeat-dose study, 323 outpatients with moderate to severe pain after oral surgery assessed zomepirac sodium, a new oral, single-entity, nonnarcotic analgesic, and APC with codeine, 30 mg, a reference standard. Pain relief obtained with 100 mg of zomepirac sodium was significantly superior to that of APC with codeine, 30 mg; 50 mg of zomepirac sodium was as effective as the reference drug. The analgesic acceptability was highest for 100 mg of zomepirac sodium. Both doses of this new drug produced significantly fewer adverse reactions than APC with codeine, 30 mg.