Targeted drugs for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are not created equal when it comes to pain relief, a retrospective study from Sweden indicated, although the differences appeared to be modest.

A systematic review of long-term muscle relaxant use for chronic pain suggests they may be effective in treating trigeminal neuralgia, cramps, and neck pain, but not fibromyalgia, low back pain, and other pain syndromes.

University of Sydney research has found people over 65 are being prescribed antidepressants as pain treatment based on international guidelines that use limited evidence. The study found that in the last 40 years there have been only 15 trials globally focusing on the benefit of antidepressants for pain in older people. This study fills a much-needed gap in research by bringing together the information from these trials to look at the efficacy and harms of antidepressants for acute and chronic non-cancer pain in those over 65 years old.

A Canadian cohort of difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis (D2T RA) patients shows significantly more non-inflammatory pain in D2T RA compared to patients responding to b/tsDMARDs.

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from RheumNow.com this week.