The alarming statistics on prescription opioid overdoses are well known to medical professionals, thanks to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s widely cited finding that deaths from opioid analgesics have increased fourfold since 1999.1 Half of all fatal drug overdoses now involve opioids prescribed by a doctor. Meanwhile, a lack of rigorous research…
U.S. Senator Launches Probe into 5 Top Opioid Drugmakers
(Reuters)—U.S. Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill sought on Tuesday details from the nation’s top opioid drugmakers on their sales and marketing practices, as lawmakers step up efforts to tackle the country’s deadly opioid crisis. The Missouri senator’s investigation comes amid an epidemic of opioid addiction, with 91 Americans dying everyday as a result of overdose, according…
Rheuminations: Why the Obesity Epidemic Should Matter to Rheumatologists
As changes in diet and eating habits have caused obesity rates to soar, research into the metabolic syndrome suggests obesity may be a form of a low-grade inflammatory state