So, concludes a study from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, IL, that featured recently at the 2018 annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists in San Francisco, CA.

The new therapy is called dorsal root ganglion (DRG) stimulation, and it works by targeting only the nerve fibers carrying signals from the source of pain. Unlike spinal cord stimulation, it avoids nerve fibers that convey messages from non-painful regions.

The recent study evaluated the impact on pain and disability of permanent DRG stimulator implants in people with chronic pain in their lower extremities and back.

Those who received the DRG stimulation says lead author Robert J. McCarthy, who is a professor of anesthesiology at Rush Medical College, "had tried numerous therapies, from drugs to spinal cord stimulation to surgery, but got little to no lasting pain relief."

They reported "significant improvement in pain even after a year, which is notable," he suggests, adding that, "For most, DRG stimulation really improved their quality of life."

A summary of the research is available in the ASA abstracts archive.

Although it often accompanies many persistent medical conditions, scientists increasingly believe that chronic pain is a "health concern on its own."

Chronic pain is pain that continues for at least 3 months. It arises when the pain signals that travel to the brain along nerve fibers persist, even though the source of the pain has disappeared.

Estimates for 2016 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggest that around 1 in 5 adults in the United States. live with chronic pain, with around 8 percent having "high-impact chronic pain."

The total annual cost to the U.S. of chronic pain — including the cost of medical treatments, disability programs, and productivity loss — is estimated to be around $560 billion.

Every year, up to 25 percent of people in the U.S. experience some form of low-back pain. For some, the pain persists and becomes chronic, with a total cost of around $100 billion per year.

Spinal cord stimulation treatment involves implanting a small device that sends low-voltage electrical impulses along a wire placed along the spinal cord. The effect is to block pain signals from reaching the brain.

Dorsal root ganglia are clusters of nerve cells — located on each side of the spinal vertebra — that relay pain and sensory signals coming from various parts of the body to the spinal cord and brain.

Libya was under foreign rule for centuries until it gained independence in 1951. Soon after oil was discovered and earned the country immense wealth.

Col Gaddafi seized power in 1969 and ruled for four decades until he was toppled in 2011 following an armed rebellion assisted by Western military intervention.

In recent years the country has been a key springboard for migrants heading for Europe. Concerns have also been raised over the rise of Islamist militancy there.

hile addressing people at the 9th Presidential Quarterly Business Forum, Professor Yemi Osinbajo (who is also Nigeria’s Vice President), claimedthat the Federal Government has spent N1.7 trillion in capital investment in two budget years.

“I am convinced that we can crack the jobs problem and we are in the right direction. First, by investing in infrastructure; we are investing more in infrastructure today than any previous governments in our history.

“We have spent so far in two budgets, N1.7 trillion in capital investment – that is the largest in the history of the country despite earning 60 percent less; we are doing far more with far less resources,’’ said the Vice President at the State House Banquet Hall in Abuja.

N1.7 TRILLION IN CAPITAL INVESTMENT IS THE LARGEST IN THE HISTORY OF THE COUNTRY

The vice president said spending N1.7 trillion in capital investment is the largest in the history of the country despite earning 60 percent less.

Since Prof Osinbajo was referring to a two-year expenditure of this current administration, we verified this claim by assessing the budgetary allocation and expenditure of 2016 and 2017. This year (2018) was not included because the budget was only passed a few months ago and technically, has not been spent yet.

According to the Budget Office of the Federatio, the 2016 budget, as approved by President Buhari has an aggregate expenditure of N6,060,677,358,227 (N6 trillion) out of which N1, 587,598,122,031 (N1 trillion) was projected as capital expenditure but the total release for capital projects in 2016, according to the Accountant General, was N1,219,471,747,443 (N1.2 trillion) which translates to only 20% of the total budget size was spent on Capital Projects. Here’s a more visual way to look at this: