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Mu-opioid receptor and receptor tyrosine kinase crosstalk: Implications in mechanisms of opioid tolerance, reduced analgesia to neuropathic pain, dependence, and reward.

Despite the prevalence of opioid misuse, opioids remain the frontline treatment regimen for severe pain. However, opioid safety is hampered by side-effects such as analgesic tolerance, reduced analgesia to neuropathic pain, physical dependence, or reward. These side effects promote development of opioid use disorders and ultimately cause overdose deaths due to opioid-induced respiratory depression. The intertwined nature of signaling via μ-opioid receptors (MOR), the primary target of prescription opioids, with signaling pathways responsible for opioid side-effects presents important challenges. Therefore, a critical objective is to uncouple cellular and molecular mechanisms that selectively modulate analgesia from those that mediate side-effects. One such mechanism could be the transactivation of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) via MOR. Notably, MOR-mediated side-effects can be uncoupled from analgesia signaling via targeting RTK family receptors, highlighting physiological relevance of MOR-RTKs crosstalk. This review focuses on the current state of knowledge surrounding the basic pharmacology of RTKs and bidirectional regulation of MOR signaling, as well as how MOR-RTK signaling may modulate undesirable effects of chronic opioid use, including opioid analgesic tolerance, reduced analgesia to neuropathic pain, physical dependence, and reward. Further research is needed to better understand RTK-MOR transactivation signaling pathways, and to determine if RTKs are a plausible therapeutic target for mitigating opioid side effects.

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Machine learning for prediction of postoperative nausea and vomiting in patients with intravenous patient-controlled analgesia.

Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is a still highly relevant problem and is known to be a distressing side effect in patients. The aim of this study was to develop a machine learning model to predict PONV up to 24 h with fentanyl-based intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IV-PCA).

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Effect of rapid rehabilitation nursing on inflammation and liver function after laparoscopic radical resection of primary liver cancer.

To explore the effect of rapid rehabilitation nursing on inflammation and liver function in patients with primary liver cancer (PLC) after laparoscopic radical resection.

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A survey on the incidence of common musculoskeletal side effects among the patients taking long-term anti-ulcerant therapies in Bangladesh.

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and H blockers are commonly prescribed medications to treat ulcers in the stomach and the upper part of the small intestine and prescribed for some other common gastrointestinal complications such as gastroesophageal reflux disease, esophagitis, irritable bowel syndrome, and dyspepsia. Previous studies claimed that, apart from other side effects, these anti-ulcerant therapies significantly altered bone mineral density by interfering with intestinal reabsorption of minerals and vitamin B12, and the most widely prescribed PPIs were significantly associated with increased risks of hip and spine fractures. However, the potential skeletal side effects of these antiulcerants are unknown in Bangladesh.

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Effects of active musical engagement during physical exercise on anxiety, pain and motivation in patients with chronic pain.

The experience of anxiety is central to the development of chronic pain. Music listening has been previously shown to exert analgesic effects. Here we tested if an active engagement in music making is more beneficial than music listening in terms of anxiety and pain levels during physical activity that is often avoided in patients with chronic pain. We applied a music feedback paradigm that combines music making and sports exercise, and which has been previously shown to enhance mood. We explored this method as an intervention to potentially reduce anxiety in a group of patients with chronic pain (= 24, 20 female and 4 men; age range 34-64, 51.67,  = 6.84) and with various anxiety levels. All participants performed two conditions: one condition, , where exercise equipment was modified with music feedback so that it could be played like musical instruments by groups of three. Second, a where groups of three performed exercise on the same devices but where they listened to the same type of music passively. Participants' levels of anxiety, mood, pain and self-efficacy were assessed with standardized psychological questionnaires before the experiment and after each condition. Results demonstrate that exercise with musical feedback reduced anxiety values in patients with chronic pain significantly as compared to conventional workout with passive music listening. There were no significant overall changes in pain, but patients with greater anxiety levels compared to those with moderate anxiety levels were observed to potentially benefit more from the music feedback intervention in terms of alleviation of pain. Furthermore, it was observed that patients during more strongly perceived motivation through others. The observed diminishing effects of on anxiety have a high clinical relevance, and in a longer term the therapeutic application could help to break the Anxiety Loop of Pain, reducing chronic pain. The intervention method, however, also has immediate benefits to chronic pain rehabilitation, increasing the motivation to work out, and facilitating social bonding.

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The C4EB study-Transvamix (10% THC / 5% CBD) to treat chronic pain in epidermolysis bullosa: A protocol for an explorative randomized, placebo controlled, and double blind intervention crossover study.

Patients with the genetic blistering skin condition epidermolysis bullosa (EB) report severe pain as a consequence of skin and mucous membrane lesions including blisters, wounds, and scars. Adequate symptom alleviation is not often achieved using conventional pharmacologic interventions. Finding novel approaches to pain care in EB is imperative to improve the quality of life of patients living with EB. There are several anecdotal reports on the use of cannabinoid-based medicines (CBMs) by EB patients to reduce the burden of symptoms. However, controlled clinical investigations assessing these reported effects are lacking. As the pain quality "unpleasantness" delineates EB pain, we hypothesize the modulation of affective pain processing in the brain by way of intervention with CBMs comprising the cannabinoids Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol-objectified by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The C4EB study is an investigator-initiated, single-centre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and crossover trial. Adult patients with the diagnosis epidermolysis bullosa, reporting chronic pain will be eligible to participate. Following baseline measurements, participants will be randomized to receive the sublingually administered interventions placebo and Transvamix® in forward or reversed orders, each for two weeks and separated by a washout. The primary outcome is the difference in numeric rating scale pain scores between grouped interventions, using affective descriptors within the Short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire-2. Secondary outcomes include pain self-efficacy, concomitant analgesic medication-use and adverse events. Additionally, fMRI will be employed to assess brain connectivity related to neuroanatomic pain circuits at baseline, placebo and Transvamix® interventions. The study was approved by the ethical committee at the University Medical Center of Groningen in the Netherlands. Results will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Trial registration number: Netherlands Trial Register: NL9347 (Acronym: C4EB).

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Anterior cervical decompression and fusion surgery for cervicogenic headache: A multicenter prospective cohort study.

Cervicogenic headache (CEH) has long been recognized as a referred pain deriving from pathological changes in the upper cervical nerves. However, previous clinical studies found that anterior lower cervical discectomy for the treatment of cervical myelopathy and/or radiculopathy can also help relieve associated headaches. To date, there is still a lack of large sample and prospective study to investigate the effect of anterior cervical decompression and fusion (ACDF) on CEH associated with cervical spondylosis.

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The role of preoperative inflammatory markers in patients with central nervous system tumors, focus on glioma.

CNS tumors, particularly gliomas, are associated with a high rate of disability and lethality, and are typically diagnosed with histopathology and immunohistochemistry. Our research aims to develop a minimally invasive method for diagnosing, grading and molecular typing glioma.

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Low-dose naloxone for prophylaxis of sufentanil-induced choking and postoperative nausea and vomiting.

Sufentanil, a potent opioid, serves as the first option for perioperative analgesia owing to its analgesic effect, long duration and stable hemodynamics, whereas its side effects frequently blunt its application. The intravenous (IV) injection of sufentanil during anesthesia induction has high incidence of choking or bucking reaction, which is defined as sufentanil-induced cough (SIC). Moreover, postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is a common and stressful complication, which is also related to the usage of opioid. High incidence of PONV is reported in the patients with SIC. Hence, we sought to determine whether naloxone, an opioid antagonist, at low dose would decrease the incidences of SIC and PONV. 216 female patients undergoing gynecological laparoscopic operation (<2 h) under general anesthesia were recruited in this study, and randomly assigned into two groups: Group N (patients receiving naloxone and Group C (patients receiving vehicle). Sufentanil (0.5 μg/kg within 5 s) was given in anesthesia induction, and low-dose naloxone (1.25 μg/kg) or identical vehicle was initially injected 5 min prior to induction, with the incidence and severity of SIC estimated. Subsequently, naloxone or vehicle was continuously infused at the rate of 0.5 μg/kg/h in the initiation of operation until the end of the operation, and the transverse abdominal fascia block (TAP) was performed for postoperative analgesia. The PONV profiles such as incidence and the severity, grading, and the frequencies of antiemetic usage within 24 h were evaluated, with VAS scores and remedial measures for analgesia during the first 24 h postoperatively were recorded. Our results revealed that one bolus of low-dose naloxone prior to the induction significantly mitigated the incidence of SIC, and intraoperative continuous infusion of low-dose naloxone reduced the incidence and the severity of PONV, so that the postoperative VAS scores and further remedial analgesia were not altered. These results not only provide clinical solutions for prophylaxis of SIC and PONV, but also suggests that opioids may act as a key role in both SIC and PONV, whereas opioid antagonist may hit two tasks with one stone. Moreover, further investigations are required to address the underlying mechanism of SIC and PONV. : [www.chictr.org.cn], identifier [ChiCTR2200064865].

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Editorial: Pain in multiple sclerosis and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

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