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Low back pain (LBP) is a widespread problem and the leading cause of disability worldwide. While the cause of LBP is multifactorial, several studies suggested that inflammatory mediators in damaged subchondral plates of degenerating discs may lead to chemical sensitization and mechanical stimulation, eventually causing pain. The goal of this study was to explore associations between such changes and LBP related disability using Dynamic Contrast Enhanced MRI.
Learn More >Diminished pressure pain thresholds (PPTs) have been found in patients with cluster headache (CH), suggesting the presence of central sensitization. However, it is not known whether sensitization persists over time during the asymptomatic periods.
Learn More >To systematically review and critically appraise the effectiveness of conservative and surgical interventions to reduce fear in studies of people with chronic low back pain, based on the analysis of randomized controlled trials for which fear was a primary or secondary outcome.
Learn More >Trigeminal neuropathic pain (TNP) remains a tremendous clinical challenge due to its elusive mechanisms. Previous studies showed that peripheral nerve injury facilitated a selective GABAergic neuronal apoptosis in the superficial dorsal horn and contributed to the development and maintenance of neuropathic pain. It has also demonstrated that downregulation of the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome(APC/C) and its coactivator Cdh1 contribute to neuronal apoptosis in diverse neurodegenerative diseases. However, whether APC/C-Cdh1 downregulation could induce GABAergic neuronal apoptosis in trigeminal caudalis nucleus (Vc), and then contribute to the development and maintenance of TNP remains unknown. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of APC/C-Cdh1 in a TNP rat model and its underlying mechanisms. Our results showed that Cdh1 was primarily distributed in superficial laminae of Vc and significantly downregulated in Vc at day 14 post trigeminal nerve injury. Furthermore, trigerminal nerve injury leads to neuronal apoptosis, especially GABAergic interneurons in the superficial of Vc. Upregulating Cdh1 in Vc ameliorated mechanical allodynia and inhibited GABAergic neuronal apoptosis induced by chronic constriction injury of trigeminal infraorbital nerve (CCI-ION).
Learn More >Body illusions have shown promise in treating some chronic pain conditions. We hypothesised that neck exercises performed in virtual reality (VR) with visual feedback of rotation amplified, would reduce persistent neck pain.
Learn More >Two recent studies suggest that experimental pain sensitivity is associated with low-grade systemic inflammation. However, only two biomarkers have been identified and the studies were conducted in adult individuals where confounding effects of comorbid diseases cannot be excluded. We therefore tested associations between pain sensitivity and 119 inflammation-related serum biomarkers in 827 healthy adolescents (15-19 years) in the population-based Tromsø Study: Fit Futures. The main outcome measure was cold-pressor pain tolerance (CPT), tested by placing the dominant hand in circulating cold (3°C) water for a maximum of 105s. Secondary outcomes were heat and pressure pain threshold and tolerance. Twelve proteins and six fatty acids were significantly associated with CPT after adjustment for possible confounding factors and correction for multiple comparisons. Of these, all fatty acids and 10 proteins were protective, i.e. higher biomarkers levels were associated with increased CPT, whereas two biomarkers were associated with lower tolerance. Taken together these biomarkers predicted completion of the tolerance test with a C-statistic of 0.65. Results for heat and pressure pain tolerance were remarkably similar, strengthening the generalizability of our findings. In this cohort of young healthy individuals, we found a relationship between inflammation-related biomarkers and pain tolerance and thresholds. Biomarkers with anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects predominated, suggesting that the development of prophylactic dietary or pharmaceutical treatments may be possible.
Learn More >Localizing pain is crucial because it allows for detecting which part of the body is being hurt and identifying in its surrounding which stimulus is producing the damage. Nociceptive inputs should therefore be mapped according to somatotopic ("which limb is stimulated?") and spatiotopic representations ("where is the stimulated limb?"). Because the body posture constantly changes, the brain has to realign the different spatial representations, for instance when the arms are crossed with the left hand in the right space and vice versa, to adequately guide actions towards the threatening object. Such ability is thought to be dependent on past sensory experience and contextual factors. We compared performances of early blind and normally sighted participants during temporal order judgement tasks. Two nociceptive stimuli were applied, one on each hand, with the hands either uncrossed or crossed. Participants reported which stimulus they perceived as first presented, according to either its location on the body or the position of the stimulated hand, respectively, prioritizing anatomy or external space as task-relevant reference frame. Relative to the uncrossed posture, sighted participants' performances were decreased when the hands were crossed, whatever the instruction be. Early blind participants' performances were affected by crossing the hands during spatial instruction, but not during anatomical instruction. These results indicate that nociceptive stimuli are automatically coded according to both somatotopic and spatiotopic representations, but the integration of the different spatial reference frames depends on early visual experience and ongoing cognitive goals, illustrating the plasticity and the flexibility of the nociceptive system.
Learn More >Spinal cord stimulation has been an established treatment for chronic back and leg pain for more than 50 years; however, outcomes are variable and unpredictable, and objective evidence of the mechanism of action is needed. A novel spinal cord stimulation system provides the first in vivo, real-time, continuous objective measure of spinal cord activation in response to therapy via recorded evoked compound action potentials (ECAPs) in patients during daily use. These ECAPs are also used to optimise programming and deliver closed-loop spinal cord stimulation by adjusting the stimulation current to maintain activation within patients' therapeutic window. We aimed to examine pain relief and the extent of spinal cord activation with ECAP-controlled closed-loop versus fixed-output, open-loop spinal cord stimulation for the treatment of chronic back and leg pain.
Learn More >The aim of this systematic review was to compile the latest evidence to assess the effectiveness of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug(s) (NSAID) in patients with temporomandibular joint disorders (TMDs) in relieving pain. TMDs are a group of musculoskeletal disorders that affect the temporomandibular joint and/or masticatory muscles.
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