Browse by Audience
Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a major public health problem. Reliably measuring the effects of chronic pain on movement and activity, and any changes due to treatment, is a healthcare challenge. A recently published paper demonstrated that a novel digital therapeutic (DTxP) was efficacious in reducing fear of movement and increasing the quality of life of adult patients with moderate to severe CLBP. In this paper, we report a study of how data from wearable devices collected in this study could be used as a digital measure for use in studies of chronic low back pain.
Learn More >This study aims to study the effect of mindfulness-based program on the psychological, biomechanical and inflammatory domains of patients with chronic low back pain.
Learn More >The aim of the present study was (1) to validate the method of guilt-induction by means of a written auto-biographical essay and (2) to test whether experimental pain is apt to alleviate the mental burden of guilt, a concept receiving support from both empirical research and clinical observation.
Learn More >To determine if pain screening and functional assessment results are associated with new diagnoses and treatment for pain in primary care.
Learn More >Sleep disturbances increase pain sensitivity in clinical and preclinical settings, but the precise mechanisms are unknown. This represents a major public health issue because of the growing sleep deficiency epidemic fueled by modern lifestyle. To understand the neural pathways at the intersection between sleep and pain processes, it is critical to determine the precise nature of the sleep disruptions that increase pain and the specific component of the pain response that is targeted.
Learn More >Bone pain is one of the most common forms of pain reported by cancer patients with metastatic disease. We conducted a review of oncology literature to further understand the epidemiology of and treatment approaches for metastatic cancer-induced bone pain and the effect of treatment of painful bone metastases on the patient's quality of life. Two-thirds of patients with advanced, metastatic, or terminal cancer worldwide experience pain. Cancer pain due to bone metastases is the most common form of pain in patients with advanced disease and has been shown to significantly reduce patients' quality of life. Treatment options for cancer pain due to bone metastases include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, palliative radiation, bisphosphonates, denosumab, and opioids. Therapies including palliative radiation and opioids have strong evidence supporting their efficacy treating cancer pain due to bone metastases; other therapies, like bisphosphonates and denosumab, do not. There is sufficient evidence that patients who experience pain relief after radiation therapy have improved quality of life; however, a substantial proportion are nonresponders. For those still requiring pain management, even with available analgesics, many patients are undertreated for cancer pain due to bone metastases, indicating an unmet need. The studies in this review were not designed to determine why cancer pain due to bone metastases was undertreated. Studies specifically addressing cancer pain due to bone metastases, rather than general cancer pain, are limited. Additional research is needed to determine patient preferences and physician attitudes regarding choice of analgesic for moderate to severe cancer pain due to bone metastases.
Learn More >Pain-related catastrophising is a maladaptive coping strategy known to have a strong influence on clinical pain outcomes and treatment efficacy. Notwithstanding, little is known about its neurophysiological correlates. There is evidence to suggest catastrophising is associated with resting-state EEG frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) patterns reflective of greater relative right frontal activity, which is known to be linked to withdrawal motivation and avoidance of aversive stimuli. The present study aims to investigate whether such a relationship occurs in the situational context of experimental pain. A placebo intervention was also included to evaluate effects of a potential pain-relieving intervention on FAA. 35 participants, including both chronic pain patients and healthy subjects, completed the Pain Catastrophising Scale (PCS) questionnaire followed by EEG recordings during cold pressor test (CPT)-induced tonic pain with or without prior application of placebo cream. There was a negative correlation between FAA and PCS-subscale helplessness scores, but not rumination or magnification, during the pre-placebo CPT condition. Moreover, FAA scores were shown to increase significantly in response to pain, indicative of greater relative left frontal activity that relates to approach-oriented behaviours. Placebo treatment elicited a decrease in FAA in low helplessness scorers, but no significant effects in individuals scoring above the mean on PCS-helplessness. These findings suggest that, during painful events, FAA may reflect the motivational drive to obtain reward of pain relief, which may be diminished in individuals who are prone to feel helpless about their pain. This study provides valuable insights into biomarkers of pain-related catastrophising and prospects of identifying promising targets of brain-based therapies for chronic pain management.
Learn More >Music-imaginative Pain Treatment (MIPT) is a form of music therapy addressing pain experience and affective attitudes toward pain. It includes two self-composed music pieces: one dedicated to the pain experience (pain music, PM) and the other to healing imagination (healing music, HM). Our non-experimental study addresses patients with chronic somatoform pain disorders participating in MIPT. The goal is to gain insight into the direct effect mechanisms of MIPT by combining outcome measures on both the objective physiological and subjective perception levels. The research questions are directed toward changes in pain experience and heart rate variability and their correlations. Thirty-seven hospitalized patients with chronic or somatoform pain disorders receiving MIPT participated in this study. Demographic data and psychometric measures (Symptom Check List SCL90, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire CTQ) were collected to characterize the sample. Subjective pain experience was measured by McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ), and Heart Rate Variability by 24 h-ECG. Data analysis shows a reduction of reported pain from M = 19.1 (SD = 7.3) to M = 10.6 (SD = 8.0) in all dimensions of the SF-MPQ. HRV analyses shows a reduced absolute power during PM and HM, while a relative shift in the autonomic system toward higher vagal activity appears during HM. Significant correlations between HRV and MPQ could not be calculated. Findings are interpreted as a physiological correlate to the psychological processes of the patients. Future studies with more participants, a control-group design, and the integration of medium- and long-term effects are recommended.
Learn More >Although activation of microglial cells is critical in developing brain disorders, their role in anxiety-like behaviors in pain is still vague. This study indicates that alteration of microglia's neuronal spine engulfment capacity in ventral zona incerta (ZI ) leads to significant pain and anxiety-like behaviors in mice 1-day post-injection of Complete Freud's Adjuvant (CFA1D). Performing whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in GABAergic neurons in the ZI (ZI ) in brain slices, we observed decreased activity in ZIv and reduced frequency of the miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) in ZI of CFA1D mice compared with the saline1D mice. Besides, chemogenetic activation of ZI significantly relieved pain and anxiety-like behaviors in CFA1D mice. Conversely, in naïve mice, chemogenetic inhibition of ZI induced pain and anxiety-like behaviors. Interestingly, we found changes in the density and morphology of ZI and increased microglial engulfment of spines in ZI of CFA1D mice. Furthermore, pain sensitization and anxiety-like behaviors were reversed when the ZI of CFA1D-treated mice were chemically inhibited by intra-ZI minocycline injection, accompanied by the recovery of decreased ZI excitability. Conclusively, our results provide novel insights that dysregulation of microglial engulfment capacity encodes maladaptation of ZI , thus promoting the development of anxiety-like behaviors in acute pain.
Learn More >