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Peripheral, Central, and Cross Sensitization in Endometriosis-Associated Pain and Comorbid Pain Syndromes.

Endometriosis-associated pain and the mechanisms responsible for its initiation and persistence are complex and difficult to treat. Endometriosis-associated pain is experienced as dysmenorrhea, cyclical pain related to organ function including dysuria, dyschezia and dyspareunia, and persistent pelvic pain. Pain symptomatology correlates poorly with the extent of macroscopic disease. In addition to the local effects of disease, endometriosis-associated pain develops as a product of peripheral sensitization, central sensitization and cross sensitization. Endometriosis-associated pain is further contributed to by comorbid pain conditions, such as bladder pain syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, abdomino-pelvic myalgia and vulvodynia. This article will review endometriosis-associated pain, its mechanisms, and its comorbid pain syndromes with a view to aiding the clinician in navigating the literature and terminology of pain and pain syndromes. Limitations of our current understanding of endometriosis-associated pain will be acknowledged. Where possible, commonalities in pain mechanisms between endometriosis-associated pain and comorbid pain syndromes will be highlighted.

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Androgens, Endometriosis and Pain.

The intriguing relationship between androgens, endometriosis and chronic pain continues to unfold. Determining this relationship is of crucial importance to gynecologists managing people with these conditions, as common treatments dramatically alter her hormonal profiles, with both intended and unintended consequences. Although they may be present in the same individual, there is a recognized disconnect between pain or pain-related symptoms, and the presence or extent of endometriosis lesions. Reduced androgen levels provide a potential mechanism to link the development of endometriosis lesions and the presence of chronic pain. This research paper expands the presentation of our research at the World Endometriosis Congress in 2021, subsequently published in the Journal of Pain Research which demonstrated a strong inverse relationship between androgen levels and days per month of pelvic and period pain. Here we extend and further explore the evidence for a role for androgens in the etiology and management of dysmenorrhea and pelvic pain in women, both with and without endometriosis. We explore the potential for inflammation to induce low androgen levels and consider ways in which clinicians can optimize levels of androgens when treating women with these conditions. This article prompts the question: Is it estrogens that predispose people to a life of pain, or androgens that are protective?

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Study protocol: The clinical features, epidemiology, and causes of paediatric encephalitis in southern Vietnam.

Encephalitis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The clinical syndrome of encephalitis consists of altered mental status, seizures, neurologic signs, and is often accompanied by fever, headache, nausea, and vomiting. The encephalitis in children has been known that more common than in adult, with the incidence rate of infants was 3.9 times higher than that of people 20-44 years of age. The reported incidence of hospitalization attributed to paediatric encephalitis ranged from 3 to 13 admissions per 100,000 children per year with the overall mortality ranging from 0 to 7%. There are however more than 100 pathogens that can cause encephalitis and accurate diagnosis is challenging. Over 50% of patients with encephalitis are left undiagnosed despite extensive laboratory investigations. Furthermore, recent studies in high-income settings have suggested autoimmune encephalitis has now surpassed infectious aetiologies, mainly due to increased awareness and diagnostic capacity, which further challenges routine diagnosis and clinical management, especially in developing countries. There are limited contemporary data on the causes of encephalitis in children in Vietnam. Improving our knowledge of the causative agents of encephalitis in this resource-constrained setting remains critical to informing case management, resource distribution and vaccination strategy. Therefore, we conduct a prospective observational study to characterise the clinical, microbiological, and epidemiological features of encephalitis in a major children's hospital in southern Vietnam. Admission clinical samples will be collected alongside meta clinical data and from each study participants. A combination of classical assays (serology and PCR) and metagenomic next-generation sequencing will used to identify the causative agents. Undiagnosed patients with clinical presentations compatible with autoimmune encephalitis will then be tested for common forms of the disease. Finally, using direct- and indirect costs, we will estimate the economic burden of hospitalization and seven days post hospital discharge of paediatric encephalitis in our setting.

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Voluntary Wheel Running Reduces Vesicle Development in an Endometriosis Animal Model Through Modulation of Immune Parameters.

Endometriosis is a chronic gynecological disorder characterized by the growth of endometrial glands and stroma outside the endometrial cavity producing inflammation and pain. Previously we demonstrated that modulation of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis exacerbates the development and severity of this condition. A physically active lifestyle has been shown to confer health benefits in many chronic conditions by potentially acting as a stress buffer, thus we hypothesized that voluntary physical exercise can 'realign/reset' the HPA axis resulting in reduced endometriosis symptoms in an animal model.

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Intraoperative epidural analgesia for pain relief after lumbar decompressive spine surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

During lumbar decompressive spine surgery, the epidural space is easily accessible. This intraoperative situation allows surgeons to apply an epidural bolus of analgesia at the end of the surgical procedure. In literature, several papers about the methods and effectiveness of delivering local analgesia during lumbar decompressive spine surgery have been published.

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Real-world evidence on spinal cord neuromodulation and pain: Long-term effectiveness analysis in a single-center cohort.

Chronic pain inflicts damage in multiple spheres of patient's life and remains a challenge for health care providers. Real-world evidence derived from outcome registries represents a key aspect of the ongoing systematic assessment and future development of neurostimulation devices.

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Development and Pilot of a REDCap Electronic Informed Consent Form for Research: An Example from the ROPE Study.

A study that describes the development of an electronic informed consent, using the REDCap platform, and the results of a pilot study to assess participants' understanding and acceptance of that electronic informed consent for use in a research study.

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Persistent Myocardial Ischaemia due to Anaemia in a Patient with Coeliac Disease – A Case Report.

Coeliac disease (CD) is a systemic disease of inappropriate immune response to gluten, and is associated with 10% increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Here we present a case of a young patient with persistent myocardial ischaemia due to iron-deficiency anaemia despite oral iron supplementation, who was eventually diagnosed with CD.

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Scanning before injection for costochondritis: A case report of ultrasound imaging of Hodgkin’s lymphoma with chest wall invasion.

Non-traumatic costochondritis, which manifests as pain and tenderness over the anterior chest wall, may be associated with inflammatory arthritis affecting the upper costochondral and sternocostal joints. Local corticosteroid injection is helpful for recalcitrant cases and ultrasound guidance may not be routinely used by experienced rheumatologists. We report a female patient with pain over the right upper parasternal area with gradual swelling near the first costosternal junction. The ultrasound examination revealed a hyper-vascular mass, which was proven to be Hodgkin's lymphoma. We want to emphasize the importance of using ultrasound for guiding injection for costochondral lesions which facilitated the detection of a tumor invading the chest wall in our case.

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Zavegepant nasal spray for the acute treatment of migraine: A Phase 2/3 double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging trial.

Evaluate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of zavegepant nasal spray in the acute treatment of migraine.

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