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Overactivity in the context of chronic pain (i.e. activity engagement that significantly exacerbates pain) is an important clinical issue that has gained empirical attention in the last decade. Current assessment concepts of overactivity tend to focus on frequency to quantify the severity of the pain behaviour. This study aimed to develop and validate a more comprehensive self-assessment, the Overactivity in Persistent Pain Assessment (OPPA).
Learn More >Conditioned pain modulation (CPM) methods are experimental procedures to assess presumed descending nociceptive modulatory pathways. Various CPM-methods are currently used, making the comparison of results difficult. The aim of this study was to compare five conditioning stimuli and to evaluate the influencing effects of personal factors on CPM-efficacy.
Learn More >Paclitaxel (PCX) is the first-line choice for the treatment of several types of cancer, including breast, ovarian and lung cancers. However, patients who receive even a single dose with PCX commonly develop mechanical and cold allodynia, a symptom known as PCX-associated acute pain syndrome (P-APS). Here we assessed possible involvement of kinin-kallikrein and renin-angiotensin systems in P-APS in mice.
Learn More >The self-management of osteoarthritis (OA) and low back pain (LBP) through activity and skills (SOLAS) theory-driven group-based complex intervention was developed primarily for the evaluation of its acceptability to patients and physiotherapists and the feasibility of trial procedures, to inform the potential for a definitive trial.
Learn More >Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is a chronic microvascular complication of diabetes. The purpose of this study is to find the underlying mechanism for the effects of acupuncture in DPN rats. Rats were rendered diabetic with a single injection of 35 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ). These STZ-diabetic rats were treated with acupuncture for 20 min once daily. The therapeutic efficacy of acupuncture was assessed using mechanical withdrawal threshold (MWT) and thermal withdrawal latency (TWL) evaluations. After 14 days treatment, acupuncture markedly reduced the pathological injury in STZ-diabetic rats. Moreover, it significantly down-regulated P2X4 and OX42 expression along with the reduced levels of inflammatory factors (CXCR3, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6), GSP and lipid metabolisms in the spinal cord of the DPN rats. Acupuncture could relieve DPN in rats by regulating P2X4 expression and inflammation in spinal microglia.
Learn More >Chronic pain alters cortical and subcortical plasticity, causing enhanced sensory and affective responses to peripheral nociceptive inputs. Previous studies have shown that ketamine had the potential to inhibit abnormally amplified affective responses of single neurons by suppressing hyperactivity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). However, the mechanism of this enduring effect has yet to be understood at the network level. In this study, we recorded local field potentials from the ACC of freely moving rats. Animals were injected with complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) to induce persistent inflammatory pain. Mechanical stimulations were administered to the hind paw before and after CFA administration. We found a significant increase in the high-gamma band (60-100 Hz) power in response to evoked pain after CFA treatment. Ketamine, however, reduced the high-gamma band power in response to evoked pain in CFA-treated rats. In addition, ketamine had a sustained effect on the high-gamma band power lasting up to five days after a single dose administration. These results demonstrate that ketamine has the potential to alter maladaptive neural responses in the ACC induced by chronic pain.
Learn More >Preclinical and clinical evidence suggests a role for the dysregulation of the endocannabinoid system in migraine pain, particularly in subjects with chronic migraine.
Learn More >We sought to assess the safety and tolerability of 3 calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) monoclonal antibodies in patients with chronic migraine who have failed multiple classes of migraine preventive therapies.
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