(January 18, 2010 - Insidermedicine)

From Seattle  - According to a report published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, people suffering chronic pain that receive high doses of opioids face an increased risk of overdose. Researchers studied nearly 10,000 patients with opioid prescriptions, finding that those who were given a higher opioid dose had a nine-fold increased risk of overdose when compared to those with low doses.

From St. Louis - According to a report published in the journal Neurology, elderly people who are developing Alzheimer's disease are more likely to suffer cognitive fluctuations--a host of symptoms that include daytime sleepiness, disorganized thinking and mental lapses. Researchers surveyed over 500 elderly people with memory problems. They found that patients who suffered these mental lapses had a 4.6x increased risk of being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

And finally, from the UK - Text messaging while driving may be more dangerous than drunk driving, according to a report presented by the RAC Foundation for Motoring. Researchers studied 17-24 year olds using a driving simulator, examining how text messaging affected their ability to operate the car. They found that steering control was dramatically reduced by 91% when texting and that reaction times also worsened by 35%-- compared with 12% longer reaction times when inebriated.