Pain Management :: Read this issue of Pain Management Today^® to receive a maximum of 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.
Inside this issue:

• Pain in Older Adults: A Review of Recent Literature
• Case Study: Treatment of Persistent Pain in an Older Patient With Dementia

Pain Management :: Read this issue of Pain Management Today^® to receive a maximum of 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.
Inside this issue:

• Clinical Guidelines for the Use of Chronic Opioid Therapy in Chronic Noncancer Pain
• Case Study: Chronic Opioid Therapy: Choosing a Safe and Effective Treatment Path

Pain Management :: Reports from on the management of persistent pain from the 28th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Pain Society (APS) 2009 in San Diego, California.

• Explain the objectives of upcoming trials that will investigate optimal dosing and duration of antiplatelet agents
• Identify the properties of novel antiplatelet agents that may be beneficial
• Balance the efficacy of antiplatelet therapy with the risk for bleeding

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• Recognize the optimal dosing and duration of antiplatelet agents in a range of patient types (young vs old, women vs men, low vs high BMI) to prevent ischemic events
• Balance the efficacy of an antiplatelet therapy with the risk for bleeding
• Identify the risks and benefits of different antiplatelet and antithrombotic therapies

• Therapeutic advances in atniplatelet and antithrombotic therapy in acute coronary syndrome
• Clinical outcomes following percutaneous coronary intervention
• Late-breaking trial data

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CCMD:: Reports on the management of atherosclerosis from the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2008 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

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• Recognize the optimal dosing and duration of antiplatelet agents in a range of patient types (young vs old, women vs men, low vs high BMI) to prevent ischemic events
• Balance the efficacy of an antiplatelet therapy with the risk for bleeding
• Identify the risks and benefits of different antiplatelet and antithrombotic therapies

With information from the latest evidence-based studies, participants should be able to:

• Describe current and emerging risk factors and markers that may aid in identifying patients at risk for subclinical atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease (CVD) 
• Summarize National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III guideline recommendations for coronary heart disease risk stratification and lipid levels
• Discuss cardiovascular risk stratification among special populations, including women and younger adults 
• Describe nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic interventions 

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Please note: This CME activity has expired.

Read this issue of Pain Management Today® to receive a maximum of .75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.

Inside this Issue:

• How to Determine Who Is at Risk for Potential Misuse of Opioids
• Opioid Conversion and Rotation: When, Why, and How To

• Therapeutic advances in antiplatelet and antithrombotic therapy
• Clinical outcomes following stent thrombosis
• Late-breaking trial data

Leg Disorders:: After reading this issue of Clinical Insights^® in Leg Disorders, participants should be able to:

• Identify the clinical manifestations of peripheral arterial disease (PAD), including possible asymptomatic presentation, and discuss strategies for the concomitant treatment of PAD and underlying disease
• Differentiate rheumatoid arthritis (RA) from other leg disorders that may present with similar symptomology and cite evidence-based pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic approaches for the treatment and management of RA, taking efficacy and safety into consideration
• Discuss the challenges inherent to managing nocturnal leg cramps (NLC) and the limitations of available therapeutic options to effectively treat recurring, severe NLC
• Explore the link between restless legs syndrome, cardiovascular disease, and stroke

Read this issue of Pain Management Today^® to receive a maximum of 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.

Inside this Issue:

• The War on Drugs Meets the War on Pain: My Encounter with the DEA
• Physician-Pharmacist Collaboration Can Improve Patient Outcomes
• How Would You Treat This Patient?

After reading this issue of Clinical Insights^® in Leg Disorders, participants should be able to:

• Discuss the overall prevalence of leg disorders as a means to differentiate the more common from the less common and to gain an appreciation for how these disorders impact the health and well-being of patients
• Explain the importance of the accurate assessment of leg disorder symptoms and the necessity for monitoring the prescribed treatment options
• Recognize and counsel patients on the management of leg disorders, including their comorbidities, as well as the side effects and contraindications of available treatment options

Ø       Latest Advances in the Management of Global Cardiovascular Risk in Special Populations

Ø       CASE STUDY: The High-Risk Patient: Metabolic Syndrome as a Predictor of Cardiovascular Disease

Ø       Considering… Arteries and Your Health: A Guide to Preventing and Understanding Peripheral Arterial Disease

Ø       CCMDweb.org Corner

 Click here to listen to this podcast. (Or, to download the audio file, right click on the link and choose "Save Target As".)

With information from the latest evidence-based studies, participants should be able to:

• Describe the effects of ezetimibe plus simvastatin on atherosclerotic progression in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia 
• Recognize the association between lipoprotein(a) levels and future coronary heart disease (CHD) risk
• Delineate the relationships of plasma HDL cholesterol levels, HDL particle size, and apolipoprotein A-I with CHD risk

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Read this issue of Pain Management Today^® to receive a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit^TM.

Inside this Issue:

• Pain in the Elderly
• Use of Opioids in the Older Patient
• Case Study: How Would You Treat This Patient?

With information from the latest evidence-based studies, participants should be able to: 

• Describe the effects of different dyslipidemia phenotypes from childhood to adulthood and their interaction with nonlipid risk factors on markers of subclinical atherosclerosis
• Compare the usefulness of the triglyceride/high-density lipoprotein (HDL) ratio versus the total cholesterol/HDL ratio for predicting insulin resistance and cardiometabolic risk
• Access the efficacy and safety of single-pill amlodipine/atorvastatin therapy for the simultaneous treatment of hypertension and dyslipidemia in African American patients with risk of cardiovascular disease

• Recognize the clinical manifestations of restless legs syndrome (RLS) and identify methods to overcome barriers to diagnosis
• Differentiate RLS from other leg disorders—nocturnal leg cramps, periodic limb movement disorder, and peripheral neuropathies, among others—that may present with similar symptoms
• Identify the clinical manifestations of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), differentiating it from other leg disorders
• Describe evidence-based pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic approaches for treating and managing DPN, taking efficacy and safety into consideration

With information from the latest evidence-based studies, participants should be able to:

• Outline the efficacy of statin therapy on the reduction in major vascular events in patients with diabetes 
• Describe the role of extreme lipoprotein(a) levels in the prediction of risk of myocardial infarction in the general population 
• Access the impact of triglyceride levels on coronary heart disease risk after an acute coronary syndrome

Click here to listen to this podcast. (Or, to download the audio file, right click on the link and choose "Save Target As".)

With information from the latest evidence-based studies, participants should be able to:

• Describe the association between subpopulations of triglyceride-rich and high-density lipoproteins adn the extent of coronary heart disease in postmenopausal women 
• Characterize the long-term benefits of bezafibrate therapy in the secondary prevention of cardiovascular events among patients with coronary heart disease and dyslipidemia 
• Delineate the impact of informing patients of their calculated coronary risk on the effectiveness of statin therapy

Click here to listen to this podcast. (Or, to download the audio file, right click on the link and choose "Save Target As".)

With information from the latest evidence-based studies, participants should be able to:

• Discuss the benefits of pravastatin therapy in women with hypercholesterolemia 
• Describe the association between socioeconomic position and inflammatory burden among different race/ethnic groups
• Identify the age-specific associations of total cholesterol with ischemic heart disease, stroke, and other vascular mortality

 Click here to listen to this podcast. (Or, to download the audio file, right click on the link and choose "Save Target As".)

With information from the latest evidence-based studies, participants should be able to:

• Assess the link of Crohn's disease to atherogenesis and high-density lipoprotein (HDL)
• Outline the effects of fenofibrate and simvastatin on HDL-related biomarkers in patients with low HDL
• Describe the suppressive effects of diacylgycerol oil on postprandial hyperlipidemia in patients with insulin resistance and glucose intolerance

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With information from the latest evidence-based studies, participants should be able to:

• Describe at least one potential mechanism to explain the increased morbidity and mortality observed with use of the CETP inhibitor torcetrapib 
• Relate the importance of continuation of statin treatment as a means to reduce the risk of future cardiovascular events and to underscore patient adherence 
• Discuss the association between total cholesterol levels and stroke mortality

 Click here to listen to this podcast. (Or, to download the audio file, right click on the link and choose "Save Target As".)

With information from the latest evidence-based studies, participants should be able to:

• Recognize the association between fasting TG level changes over time and CHD risk in young adults
• Identify the development of minor strokes with increased total serum cholesterol levels
• Compare the effectiveness of two statins on CRP (<2 mg/L) and LDL-C (<70 mg/dL) among patients with type 2 diabetes

Click here to listen to this podcast. (Or, to download the audio file, right click on the link and choose "Save Target As".)

With information from the latest evidence-based studies, participants should be able to:

• Ascertain whether statin-associated adverse events are proportional to       LDL-C reduction
• Evaluate the efficacy and safety of long-term statin therapy in children with familial hypercholesterolemia, as well as the relation between the age of statin initiation and carotid IMT
• Characterize no evidence of interaction observed between clopidogrel and type of statins when administered concomitantly to high-risk patients

  
Click here to listen to this podcast. (Or, to download the audio file, right click 
on the link and choose "Save Target As".)

With information from the latest evidence-based studies, participants should be able to:

• Recognize the impact of the Mediterranean diet on cellular lipid levels and LDL oxidation in patients at high cariovascular risk
• Explain the increase in cardiovascular risk associated with increasing postprandial trigylceride levels
• Describe the effect of statin use in individuals with very low LDL-C levels (<60 mg/dL)

Read this issue of Pain Management Today^® or listen to the podcasts to receive a maximum of .75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.

Topics in this issue include the use of methadone in patients who have pain, the impact of chronic pain on patients' lives, and the importance of managing pain.

With information from the latest evidence-based studies, participants should be able to:

• Detail the anti-inflammatory effects of combination lipid-lowering therapies incorporating different mechanisms of action
• Recognize the worsened prognosis for patients with preexisting atherosclerosis who have the metabolic syndrome
• Identify the gap in treatment for patients at presumptive high cardiovascular risk (ie, in chest pain units)

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Read this issue of Pain Management Today^® or listen to the podcasts to receive a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.

Topics in this issue include pain and insomnia, opioid rotation, and aberrant drug-related behaviors, as well as an expert commentary on recent literature in diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain.

Read this issue of Pain Management Today^® or listen to the podcasts to receive a maximum of 1.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits^™.

Topics in this issue include patient evaluation, complex regional pain syndrome, and new delivery systems in pain management, as well as an expert commentary on recent literature in neuropathic pain.

Ø       A Review of Recent Important Clinical Trials

Ø       An Overview of Ongoing Noteworthy Clinical Trials

Ø       CASE STUDY Multifactorial Management of Cardiovascular Risk in Type 2 Diabetes

Ø       Considering…Your Risk Factors for Heart Disease¾Uncontrolled Cholesterol, High Blood Pressure, and Type 2 Diabetes: A Triple Threat to Your Heart Health

Ø       CCMDweb.org Corner

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the link and choose "Save Target As".)

• Risk Management in the Primary Care Setting
• Treating Pain: A Perfect Storm of Controversy and Confusion
• Drug Safety Update
• Insights into the FDA and Drug Safety
• Chronic Pain Medications: Benefits vs Risks

• Pain Management in the Decade 2010-2020: Déjà vu du Jour
• Unraveling the Mechanisms of Neuropathic Pain
• National Survey: Physical Pain Aggravates Majority of Americans
• Pain Survey Impressions

• Treating Chronic Pain: Biopsychosocial Approach in Primary Care Practice
• Arthritis and the COX-2 Conundrum: A Case Study
• Case Study: Managing Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathic Pain
• Ask the Expert
  
  

Inside this Issue:

• Improving Quality of Life for Chronic Pain Patients
• Current and Emerging Pharmacologic Therapies
• Assessing the Patient with Chronic Low Back Pain
• Selected Abstracts from the Second Joint Scientific Meeting of the APS and CPS

Inside this Issue:

• Documenting Opioid Usage
• Guidelines for the Treatment of Neuropathic Pain
• When to Consider Diagnostic Tests for Back Pain
• Opioids for Chronic Pain: A Question of Balance

Inside this Issue:

• Opioid Analgesia and the Elderly Patient: Maintaining the Patient on Opioid Therapy, Part II
• Assessing Patients With Chronic Pain: A Comprehensive Approach
• The Latest in Topical Therapies
• Extended-Release vs Short-Acting Opioids in the Management of Pain
• Managing Pain Associated With Whiplash/Fibromyalgia Syndrome
• Seven Tips for Managing Pain Patients After They Return From a Specialist

Inside this Issue:

• Practical Approach to the Treatment of Neuropathic Pain
• Opioid Analgesia and the Elderly Patient: Starting the Patient on Opioids, Part I
• Managing Pain Associated With Diabetic Neuropathy
• The Opioid Agreement
• Partnering With Pain Specialists

Inside this Issue:

• Assessing and Managing Potential Complications of Opioid Therapy—Addiction, Dependence, and Tolerance
• Anatomy, Physiology, and Pharmacologic Treatment of Chronic Back Pain
• Pain Assessment: Making Use of Pain Diaries
• HIV-Associated Peripheral Neuropathy
• Case Study: Pain in Hands and Fingers
• Questions From the Field

Inside this Issue:

• Pain as a Disease
• Pharmacologic Approach to Neuropathic Pain: Balancing Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability
• Pain Assessment
• Emerging Clinical Concepts in Opioid Therapy
• Opioid Therapy: Measuring Outcomes and Designing Care Plans
• Case Study: Postoperative Issues, Modifying Pain Treatment, and Physician Action
• Questions From the Field

• Women With Migraine: Health Issues You Can't Ignore
• Case Study: Faces and Phases of Menstrually Related Migraine
• An Ounce of Prevention: What Is It Worth?
• Therapeutic Opportunity: Women With Migraine

• Establishing Goals for the Patient With Migraine
• News on Menstrual Migraine
• Case Study: Is It Migraine or Sinusitis?
• Exploring Migraine Misconceptions