Psychology

Despite the popularity and affordances of social media groups for people with chronic conditions, there have been few controlled tests of the effects of these groups. This randomized controlled superiority trial examined the effects of Facebook groups on pain-related outcomes and tested whether a professional-led group leads to greater effects than a support group alone. We randomly assigned 119 adults with chronic pain to one of two Facebook group conditions: a standard condition (n = 60) in which participants were instructed to offer mutual support, or a professional-led condition (n = 59) in which the investigators disseminated empirically-supported, socially-oriented psychological interventions. Four groups were run (2 standard, 2 professional-led), each lasting 4 weeks and containing approximately 30 participants. Measures were administered at baseline, post-intervention, and 1-month follow-up. Across conditions, participants improved significantly in primary outcomes (pain severity and interference; medium-large effects) and a secondary outcome (depressive symptoms; small-medium effect), and they retained their outcomes 1 month after the groups ended. The two conditions did not differ on improvements. Overall, this study supports the use of social media groups as an additional tool to improve chronic pain-related outcomes. Our findings suggest that professional intervention may not have added value in these groups and that peer support alone may be driving improvements. Alternatively, the psychosocial intervention components used in the current study might have been ineffective, or more therapist direction may be warranted. Future research should examine when and how such guidance could enhance outcomes.

Neuropathic pain caused by nerve injury presents with severe spontaneous pain and a range of comorbidities, including deficits in higher executive functioning, none of which are adequately treated with current analgesics. Interleukin-6 (IL-6), a proinflammatory cytokine, is critically involved in the development and maintenance of central sensitization. However, the roles of IL-6 in neuropathic pain and related comorbidities have yet to be fully clarified. The present study examined the effect of MR16-1, an anti-IL-6 receptor antibody and inhibits IL-6 activity, on allodynia and cognitive impairment in mice with neuropathic pain following partial sciatic nerve ligation (PSNL). Significant upregulation of IL-6 expression was observed in the hippocampus in PSNL mice. Intranasal administration of MR16-1 significantly improved cognitive impairment but not allodynia in PSNL mice. Intranasal MR16-1 blocked PSNL-induced degenerative effects on hippocampal neurons. Intraperitoneal administration of MR16-1 suppressed allodynia but not cognitive impairment of PSNL mice. The findings suggest that cognitive impairment associated with neuropathic pain is mediated through changes in hippocampus induced by IL-6. These data also suggest that IL-6 mediated peripheral inflammation underlies allodynia, and IL-6 mediated inflammation in the central nervous system underlies cognitive impairment associated with neuropathic pain, and further suggest the therapeutic potential of blocking IL-6 functioning by blocking its receptor.

An integrated score that globally assesses perioperative pain experience and rationally weights each component has not yet been developed.

Chronic pain is a prolonged condition that deteriorates one's quality of life. Treating chronic pain requires a multicomponent approach, and in many cases, there are no "silver bullet" solutions. Mobile health (mHealth) is a rapidly expanding category of solutions in digital health with proven potential in chronic pain management.

To describe chronic pain in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) from children's/adolescents' perspectives, explore patient variables associated with self-reported pain, and examine the relationship between chronic pain, psychological functioning, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL).