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To report on the benefits of noninvasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) on acute vestibular migraine (VM) treatment.
Learn More >The pathophysiology of fibromyalgia includes central and peripheral factors. Neurotrophins, such as nerve growth factor and brain-derived neurotrophic factor, are involved in peripheral and central nervous system development of pain and hyperalgesia. Few studies have examined circulating nerve growth factor and brain-derived neurotrophic factor in fibromyalgia or have investigated whether exercise interventions affect the levels of these peptides.
Learn More >To explore predictors of dropout of patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain from an interdisciplinary chronic pain management programme, and to develop and validate a multivariable prediction model, based on the Extended Common-Sense Model of Self-Regulation (E-CSM).
Learn More >Voltage-gated sodium channels (Nas) are a key determinant of neuronal signalling. Neurotoxins from diverse taxa that selectively activate or inhibit Na channels have helped unravel the role of Na channels in diseases, including chronic pain. Spider venoms contain the most diverse array of inhibitor cystine knot (ICK) toxins (knottins). This review provides an overview on how spider knottins modulate Na channels and describes the structural features and molecular determinants that influence their affinity and subtype selectivity. Genetic and functional evidence support a major involvement of Na subtypes in various chronic pain conditions. The exquisite inhibitory properties of spider knottins over key Na subtypes make them the best lead molecules for the development of novel analgesics to treat chronic pain.
Learn More >This study investigated if repeated buffered acidic saline infusions into the masseter muscles induced muscle pain and mechanical sensitization. Fourteen healthy men participated in this double-blind, randomized, and placebo-controlled study. Two repeated infusions (day 1 and 3) were given in the masseter muscles with either a buffered acidic saline solution (pH 5.2) or an isotonic saline solution (pH 6) as control. After 10 days of wash-out, the experiment was repeated with the other substance. Pressure pain thresholds (PPT), pain intensity, maximum unassisted mouth opening (MUO), and pain drawings were assessed before, directly following, and after each infusion at 5, 15, and 30 min and on day 4 and 7. Fatigue and pain intensity were assessed after a one-minute chewing test 30 min after infusions and day 4 and 7. Acidic saline induced higher pain intensity than control day 3 up to 5 min after infusions, but did not affect PPT. The chewing test did not evoke higher fatigue during chewing or MUO or after acidic saline infusion compared to control. Repeated acidic saline infusions in the masseter muscles induced a short-lasting muscle pain without mechanical hyperalgesia or functional pain. Hence, this model might not be superior to already existing experimental muscle pain models.
Learn More >Listening to self-chosen, pleasant and relaxing music reduces pain in fibromyalgia (FM), a chronic centralized pain condition. However, the neural correlates of this effect are fairly unknown. In our study, we wished to investigate the neural correlates of music-induced analgesia (MIA) in FM patients. To do this, we studied 20 FM patients and 20 matched healthy controls (HC) acquiring rs-fMRI with a 3T MRI scanner, and pain data before and after two 5-min auditory conditions: music and noise. We performed resting state functional connectivity (rs-FC) seed-based correlation analyses (SCA) using pain and analgesia-related ROIs to determine the effects before and after the music intervention in FM and HC, and its correlation with pain reports. We found significant differences in baseline rs-FC between FM and HC. Both groups showed changes in rs-FC after the music condition. FM patients reported MIA that was significantly correlated with rs-FC decrease between the angular gyrus, posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus, and rs-FC increase between amygdala and middle frontal gyrus. These areas are related to autobiographical and limbic processes, and auditory attention, suggesting MIA may arise as a consequence of top-down modulation, probably originated by distraction, relaxation, positive emotion, or a combination of these mechanisms.
Learn More >An Australian estuarine isolate of sp. MST-MF667 yielded 3 tetrapeptides named the bilaids with an unusual alternating LDLD chirality. Given their resemblance to known short peptide opioid agonists, we elucidated that they were weak ( low micromolar) μ-opioid agonists, which led to the design of bilorphin, a potent and selective μ-opioid receptor (MOPr) agonist ( 1.1 nM). In sharp contrast to all-natural product opioid peptides that efficaciously recruit β-arrestin, bilorphin is G protein biased, weakly phosphorylating the MOPr and marginally recruiting β-arrestin, with no receptor internalization. Importantly, bilorphin exhibits a similar G protein bias to oliceridine, a small nonpeptide with improved overdose safety. Molecular dynamics simulations of bilorphin and the strongly arrestin-biased endomorphin-2 with the MOPr indicate distinct receptor interactions and receptor conformations that could underlie their large differences in bias. Whereas bilorphin is systemically inactive, a glycosylated analog, bilactorphin, is orally active with similar in vivo potency to morphine. Bilorphin is both a unique molecular tool that enhances understanding of MOPr biased signaling and a promising lead in the development of next generation analgesics.
Learn More >A person's concept of pain can be defined as how they understand what pain actually is, what function it serves and what biological processes are thought to underpin it. This study aimed to explore the concept of pain in children with and without persistent pain.
Learn More >The aim of this systematic review with meta-analysis is to evaluate the clinical efficacy of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for any type of acute and chronic pain in adults.
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