Millennium Research Institute to Present New Data to Aid in the Treatment of Pain and Addiction at Painweek 2013
San Diego and Las Vegas (PRWEB) September 03, 2013 -- Millennium Research Institute (MRI), a nonprofit national research center formed in 2010 focused on advancing the science and outcome of pain management and addiction through education, research and advocacy, will present new data that provides important insights for the treatment of both pain and addiction.
Exploring High Rates of Abnormal Pharmacogenetic Findings in a Pain Practice and Trends in Drug & Illicit Use from Urine Drug Testing from Addiction Treatment Clients will be presented on Thursday, Sept. 5 between 6:15-7:30 p.m. in The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas Condesa 4 Room by MRI’s Steve Passik, Ph.D., during PAINWeek, the largest pain conference for pain management clinicians, in Las Vegas.
Exploring High Rates of Abnormal Pharmacogenetic Findings in a Pain Practice is a retrospective study on pharmacogenetic testing (PGT) that explores the prevalence of genetic polymorphisms in a specialty pain practice in Louisiana. Eric Ehlenberger, M.D., Accurate Clinic, La., administered PGT to 104 pain patients between the last week of November 2012 and the first week of February 2013 and found more than half of the PGT results in this sample to be abnormal. The study concluded that PGT may help in prescribing more effective and tolerable medications, minimizing the frustrating and costly trial and error process involved in finding the proper pain medication.
“Pharmacogenetic testing is an important clinical tool that allows me to offer more personalized treatment to my patients,” said Ehlenberger. “I was surprised to discover that more than half of my patients in this study were found to have genetic variations in the enzymes that metabolize medications. These genetic variations can increase the likelihood of a bad outcome, ranging from lack of efficacy to serious toxicity. Though more study is needed, the results point to PGT as a useful tool for pain practitioners and the personalized treatment planning it enables.”
Trends in Drug & Illicit Use from Urine Drug Testing from Addiction Treatment Clients, examines trends in drug use and misuse among people with the disease of addiction, and the need for practitioners to place a high priority on monitoring and managing drug use, abuse and diversion. From the 4,299 addiction de-identified specimens Millennium tested, 48.5 percent of specimens were in full agreement with reported medications, leaving 51.5 percent of specimens showing some level of unexpected results. Of those specimens that resulted in unexpected results, 9.3 percent showed positive results for both illicit substances and unreported prescription medications. When comparing these addiction specimen results between point of care testing (POCT) and LC-MS/MS confirmation for opiates, 29.9 percent of true positives and 22.4 percent of true negatives were missed by POCT alone.
“Treating pain and addiction is complex,” said Passik. “Urine drug testing offers practitioners an important clinical tool to potentially help in identifying early signs of relapse.”
Representatives from Millennium Research Institute will be available on site for media interviews. For more information, please visit booth #113.
About the Millennium Research Institute (MRI)
As part of the company’s commitment to pain management research and education, Millennium Laboratories in 2010 established the Millennium Research Institute, a national research center that conducts and disseminates original research as well as collaborates with other researchers focused on improving the experiences of people suffering from pain, pain-related disorders and addiction. The Institute maintains several national academic partnerships and supports collaborative research.
With world-class scientific researchers, laboratory experts and toxicologists led by Principal Investigators Amadeo J. Pesce, Ph.D., Steven Passik, Ph.D., and Ken Kirsh, Ph.D., the Millennium Research Institute is focused on promoting excellence in medication monitoring, the treatment of pain and addiction, minimizing the suffering and social consequences of prescription drug misuse, abuse, and diversion. In addition, Millennium Laboratories’ psychologists, psychiatrists, pharmacists and allied health professionals further the Institute’s goals through medical education programs and advocacy of national standards and guidelines to assure safe prescribing practices. For more information, visit the website http://www.millenniumresearchinstitute.org.
Contact:
Nicole Beckstrand
Corporate Communications
Millennium Laboratories
858-401-2897
Nicole(dot)beckstrand(at)millenniumlabs(dot)com
Nicole Beckstrand, Millennium Laboratories, http://www.millenniumlabs.com, 877-451-3534, [email protected]
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