BACKGROUND Opioid use and dosing for patients with chronic non-cancer pain have dramatically increased over the past decade, resulting in a national epidemic of mortality associated with unintentional overdose, and increased risk of disability among injured workers. We assessed changes in opioid dosing patterns and opioid-related mortality in the Washington State (WA) workers' compensation syst...

BACKGROUND Five accelerometer-derived methods of identifying nonwear and wear time were compared with a self-report criterion in adults ≥ 56 years of age. METHODS Two hundred participants who reported wearing an Actical™ activity monitor for four to seven consecutive days and provided complete daily log sheet data (i.e., the criterion) were included. Four variables were obtained from log shee...

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a chronic condition characterized by widespread pain, tender points, fatigue, and sleep disturbance. FMS leads to high disability levels, poor quality of life, and extensive use of medical care. Effective pharmacological treatment options are rare, and treatment effects are often of limited duration. Duloxetine is a new selective serotonin and norepinephrine reupt...

BACKGROUND Published literature reports significant improvements in pathological conditions, such as pain, blood dyscrasias, and cellulite, after using topical occlusive accessories containing particulate ceramic materials. Recent work reported a reduction in body measurements after 30 days of daily use of high-waist undershorts made of synthetic fabrics with embedded ceramic particles. OBJEC...

PURPOSE Anticoagulant tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) is released from its endothelial stores by heparin, which may lead to its untoward depletion. We investigated the effects of sulodexide--a commercially available mixture of heparan and dermatan sulfate, on plasma TFPI release and depletion. MATERIAL AND METHODS An open-label pilot trial of intravenous and/or oral sulodexide effects ...

In this study, changes in growth parameters and nutrient intake were compared in Chinese children (ages 30-60 months) with picky eating (PE) behaviors and weight-for-height ≤25th percentile, who were randomized to receive nutrition counseling alone (NC; n = 76) or with a nutritional milk supplement (NC + NS; n = 77) for 120 days. Increases in weight-for-height z-scores were significantly greate...