A Turning Point
$$$$$ MONEY $$$$$
at NIH
May not come this way again
NIH developing
5-year NIH-wide Strategic Plan
Donate to organizations, below
They can provide feedback to NIH via the
RFI Submission site
John C. Liebeskind, 1935 – 1997, distinguished scholar and researcher, past president of the American Pain Society, had the radical idea that pain can affect your health.
Research decades ago by an Israeli team at UCLA and others had shown “that pain can accelerate the growth of tumors and increase mortality after tumor challenge.” Decades ago Professor Liebeskind lectured all over the country: Pain kills.
He wrote an editorial in 1991, summarizing a life’s work:
“Pain and stress can inhibit immune function.”
Quoting John Bonica, the father of modern pain management, he wrote:
“Bonica has long argued that the term ‘chronic benign pain’ (used in distinction to pain associated with cancer) is seriously misleading. Chronic pain is never benign, he contends; “it is a ‘malefic force’ that can devastate its victims’ lives and even lead to suicide.”
Liebeskind continues, “It appears that the dictum ‘pain does not kill,’ sometimes invoked to justify ignoring pain complaints, may be dangerously wrong.”
Pain mediates immune function
Importantly
Opioids mediate the suppressive effect of stress on natural killer cells,
published in 1984, immune system.
Alcohol increases tumor progression, 1992, immune system.
It used to be news.
He did not live to see change.
People just want to go on doing what they’re doing.
They want business as usual.
After 1991, we saw the great discoveries of neuroinflammation, pioneered by Linda Watkins, PhD, the early understanding of the innate immune system, its involvement in chronic pain and depression, and a few weeks ago, a British team showed neuroinflammation in teens with early signs of schizophrenia and DNA markers.
Major Depression has the same neuro-inflammation found in chronic pain, often responding to same medications, in particular glial modulators – immune modulators. Now, perhaps early schizophrenia will respond to glial modulators, reducing inflammation seen on scan in teens, before they become homeless and burned out by antipsychotic drugs
Inflammation out of control destroys neurons
Fire on the brain
We must be the change we wish to see
It’s not just the Bern. It’s been starting. Forces are finally coming together. We want change. It’s been too much. Too long.
We won’t take it anymore.
I figure if I tell you about it, you might just mention it to someone to pass it on. That is all. One small action may lead to change. Activate inputs to the NIH strategic plan.
~ Action needed ~
Prices of drugs becoming unaffordable
No new drugs for pain or major depression
Research to repurpose existing drugs
Expose the politics destroying our compounding pharmacies
Above all
The #1
Major Priority:
Request NIH to solicit priority call for research on
Glial modulators of the
Innate immune system
Why?
Glia modulate
chronic pain, major depression
and almost every known disease
Glia are your innate immune system
Inflammation kills
Stress kills. Inflammation kills.
Pain kills
In the 1970’s, Professor Liebeskind and an Israeli team at UCLA injected cancer cells to two groups of rats that had sham surgery. Cancer spread much faster and killed far sooner in the group with poor treatment of surgical pain.
~ Pain kills ~
He lectured all over the country
Forty five years ago
I’m gonna be dead before I see this country do anything but unaffordable opioids and the magical ineffective trio of gabapentin, Lyrica, Cymbalta to treat chronic pain. The devastating, blind, nationwide emphasis does nothing to address the cause: inflammation, the innate immune system gone wild.
Innate immune system in action
Untreated pain suppresses the hormone systems too.
Untreated depression – same inflammation kills lives.
Where’s the money?
We are the change we wish to see. It’s pitiful I am so lazy. Suddenly, too late, we may need something, but, aha, no new drugs in the pipeline.
~ Make a joyful cry to NIH ~
They are soliciting input from professional societies
If your condition has failed all known drugs for pain or major depression, then make a joyful cry to NIH, now, before they give away all that nice new $$$$$money$$$$$.
Follow and join
American Pain Society
International Association for Pain
celebrating 40 years of pain research
Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association
help for CRPS/RSD
The key to CRPS/RSD pain will apply to all forms of chronic pain, in particular the most difficult form, neuropathic pain. RSDSA funds research into all forms of chronic pain, not only Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS/RSD). Their scientific board members are not funded by opioid money.
Exactly
what is the annual cost of care
as fraction of GDP
for the growing population of Americans on opioids
for one year, for lifetime?
People are dying from prescription opioids and those who need them find they don’t work well enough. Prescriptions opioid costs must be a huge fraction of the medical costs in the United States GDP. You are required to see a doctor every single month each year, often lifelong, just for one opioid, 12 months a year x 30 years x tens of millions of people and increasing – a growth industry. Not even counting $600 a day for the opioid, what the cost of monthly visits for 30 years? Not counting the army of DEA, FDA, CDC agents watching the opioids like a hawk. We all have to be sharp, addiction is growing. Addiction aside, deaths from prescription opioids are shaking up the CDC forcing urgent change this coming month.
Opioids do not work well for chronic pain
We need better
It’s not just the $600/day price
They just don’t work
donate
Raise a joyful noise at NIH now or write back at us readers with comments and better suggestions. Tell others what you’d like to see. Which politicians do you know would be most interested in this at national levels and organizations?
You may never see this change unless you do it now. Other forces will get this new money.
Turning point now
May not return
We are at a turning point and we will fail to catch the sail that’s coming fast to carry all research money in their shiny big stem cell direction. They never look back.
There is so many medications we can use today, FDA approved drugs that can be re-purposed and applied to recent cutting edge science. Someone must pay to do the work to study this.
Re-purpose old drugs
Stanford just showed a popular generic drug improved recovery of stroke paralysis in mice to begin at 3 days rather than 30. Old drug, new purpose, of course more years of testing to confirm in humans. Brilliant team applying new science.
Request
NIH to solicit a
Special Invitation
for 30 good protocols to
repurpose old drugs
Hundreds of old drugs, already approved, could be involved in mechanisms we have recently learned about. Speak up or money will go to shiny new stem cells. None for chronic pain or major depression. No company will find this profitable – it must be funded by NIH. A popular generic sleeping pill can bring astonishing return from stroke paralysis.
Congress has not opened this new money to NIH in many long years. How often will there be extra money?
donate
Lawrence A. Tabak, D.D.S., Ph.D.
Principal Deputy Director, NIH, solicits you to
Review the NIH Strategic Initiative Plan and their
Request for Information (RFI) and the NIH website
and provide your feedback via the RFI Submission site
This is for “stakeholder organizations (e.g., patient advocacy groups, professional societies) to submit a single response reflective of the views of the organization/membership as a whole. We also will be hosting webinars to gather additional input. These webinars will be held in early to mid-August.
Be the change you wish to see
Donate to those organizations
to solicit the change you wish to be
Happy New Year
Rejoice!
There’s money at NIH
The material on this site is for informational purposes only.
It is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider.
Relevant comments are welcome.
If any questions, please schedule an appointment with my office.
This site is not for email.
~~~~~
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Filed under: American Pain Society, Antidepressants, Back Pain, Bernie, Bipolar Disorder, Bladder Pain, Chronic Pain, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, Compounded Medicine, Congress, Controversy, CRPS, Depression, Drug Prices, Failed back surgery, Fibromyalgia, Headache, Healthcare Costs, Hyperalgesia, IASP, Immune System, Inflammation, Insurance, Interstitial Cystitis, intractable pain, Intrathecal Pumps, Ketamine, Low Dose Naltrexone LDN, Medications, Naltrexone, Neck Pain, Neuro-inflammation, Neuroinflammation, Neuropathic Pain, Neuropathy, NIH, NIH Research, Opioid Induced Hyperalgesia, Opioid Tolerance, Opioids, Osteoarthritis, Pain, Pain Management, medicine, Pain Societies, Politics of Pain, Uncategorized Tagged: American Pain Society, Bernie, Chronic Pain, Controversy, CRPS, Depression, Fibromyalgia, IASP, Inflammation, Ketamine, LDN, Naltrexone, Neuroinflammation, Neuropathic Pain, NIH, NIH research, Opioids, Pain, RSD
